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How An Oil & Gas Company Transformed Into A Renewable Giant
The world’s largest offshore wind developer began as an oil and gas producer — its transition could hold lessons for oil companies today
During the 1970s, many developed countries fell victim to a sudden energy crisis. Countries across North America and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, were highly reliant on Middle Eastern countries for their supply of fossil fuels, and a series of conflicts in the region interrupted that supply. Prices soared and shortages ensued across the developed world.
Denmark was among the countries most affected. In response, the Danish government looked towards energy independence: they wanted to reduce their reliance on foreign countries for energy products.
So, in 1973, the Danish government founded Danish Oil & Natural Gas (DONG). The goal of DONG was to extract the substantial oil and gas resources present in the North Sea.
And for the few decades of DONG’s existence, that’s exactly what they did. Gradually, DONG’s oil and gas activities expanded to Norway, the UK, and even Greenland. At the beginning of the 2000s, DONG expanded into the electricity sector by purchasing stakes in utility companies.
