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The selloff of stakes in the Canadian companies is not expected to have a great impact on the market which is already buffeted by issues related to pipeline export capacity and a shortage of capital, said analyst Phil Skolnick of Eight Capital.

He cited Bloomberg statistics from December that show the wealth fund owned just one per cent of Canadian Natural’s stock, 0.57 per cent of Encana’s shares and 0.68 per cent of Cenovus’ shares.

“There’s nothing of size when you look at the percentage of total shares outstanding,” he said, while cautioning that the impact could worsen if other large funds follow the Norwegian fund’s lead.

Jensen said she had instructed Norway’s central bank to monitor how the fund was exposed to companies that could contribute to climate change, which is now considered a major risk for financial returns. However, it was too early to say how that assessment might impact investment decisions.

Integrated oil giants were not banned from the fund’s investments in part because those companies are considered most likely to invest in green energy — a market the Norwegian government is keen to profit from.

“They take on much bigger investments than renewable companies do. It would be a mistake as I see it to cut off the fund’s possibility to invest in them,” Jensen said.

Major integrated oil companies will be breathing a sigh of relief, as the Norwegian fund owns large amounts of their shares. At the end of 2018, it owned shares in around 300 oil producers and service companies including almost US$6 billion in Royal Dutch Shell, or 2.5 per cent of the company. It owns 2.3 per cent of London-based BP.

Rather, smaller companies like Marathon Oil and Chesapeake Energy will see their stock sold. Their shares were down 3.7 and 7.1 in late morning trading in the U.S.

The Norwegian fund has a stake in more than 9,000 companies worldwide, including the likes of Apple, Nestle, Microsoft and Samsung. On average, the fund holds 1.4 per cent of all of the world’s listed companies. About 70 per cent of its holdings are in shares.

With files from The Canadian Press