Norway's $1 trillion wealth fund will begin dumping its shares in oil and gas companies, paving the way for a huge divestment in the likes of Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil.

There Norwegian fund, the biggest of its kind in the world, derives its income from the country's own oil and gas industry. It has significant stakes in several oil companies, with some $6 billion tied up in Royal Dutch Shell alone.

Minister of Finance Siv Jensen said Friday in a statement that the move is meant to "reduce the vulnerability of our common wealth to permanent oil price decline."

The nation of 5.3 million people derives much of its wealth from the fossil fuels industry, which accounts for some 20 percent of Norwegian GDP.