Goodlad defends £73k Equinor shares amid Armitage concern
RECENTLY elected Shetland MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad has defended holding more than £70,000 worth of shares in oil and energy giant Equinor – something which local Greens member Alex Armitage said he “takes issue” with.
Armitage said he encouraged anyone with shares in the company to sell them – and said in his view the campaign to save Scalloway Pool is a “much more worthwhile cause to invest in”.
Goodlad, who was elected as Shetland’s MSP in May before being appointed as Scotland’s public finance minister, had her register of interests published recently on the Scottish Parliament website.
It says the SNP MSP holds ordinary shares in Equinor UK Ltd with a value of £73,373.
Prior to becoming MSP, Goodlad worked for Equinor in Norway as head of renewables portfolio and strategy in the Asia Pacific region.
Equinor is a driving force behind the controversial proposed Rosebank oil and gas development to the northwest of Shetland.
Late last year Equinor combined with Shell to merge their UK oil and gas operations under the name Adura, which is now leading the Rosebank project.
Adura is jointly owned by Equinor (50 per cent) and Shell (50 per cent).
Equinor also is involved in the UK in offshore wind, including the 30MW Hywind development off Peterhead and the large Dogger Bank project near the North East of England, as well as carbon capture.
Oil and gas is a matter reserved to the UK Government, including the upcoming decision on the revised submission for Rosebank following a legal ruling on environmental grounds.
Goodlad’s register of interests also show that although she does not have a personal interest, her family owns a two per cent share in Energy Isles Ltd – the consortium of mainly local companies which is involved in the Yell wind farm of the same name being developed by Norwegian company Statkraft.
It also lists her family has having a 0.5 per cent share in the company behind the Hammars Hill wind farm in Orkney, and 25 per cent in local company North Fish Ltd, which which supplies renewable heat and electricity to commercial customers including wood pellets for biomass boilers.
Armitage, who stood against Goodlad in the recent Scottish Parliament election and has campaigned against Rosebank, said “as somebody who cares about climate and community wealth building, there are clearly a number of items here that I’d take issue with, particularly the shareholding in Equinor”.
“I realise that everyone has a life before coming into politics – it’s up to them to decide about the interests they wish to continue pursuing alongside their political career and be held accountable accordingly,” he added.
“Personally, I’d urge anyone and everyone to sell their shares in Equinor. In my view, the campaign to save Scalloway Pool is a much more worthwhile cause to invest in.”
In response, Goodlad said the shares were party of her earning package over the time when she was employed by Equinor.
“I am very proud to have grown up in Shetland, received an excellent state education at the AHS [Anderson High School] and worked hard in my career outside politics before becoming the second Shetlander to hold a seat in Scottish Government,” she added.
“I have been happy to provide my full financial information as part of the Scottish Government standard declaration process.
“It’s right that all people elected to public offices’ personal interests are declared and everything is transparent.”
She also previously said that having a background of working in a corporate environment could be of benefit, adding in a climate hustings debate that politicians need to understand corporations “inside out” and be able to “tackle them head on”.
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