DONG Energy changes name as it exits oil and gas business

Danish energy company DONG Energy has decided to change its name following last week’s completion of the upstream oil and gas business sale, which also marked the company’s exit from the oil and gas business overall.

To remind, DONG Energy on Friday completed the divestment of its upstream oil and gas business to INEOS. As part of closing, approximately 430 employees have been transferred from DONG Energy to INEOS.

The company, which is now fully focused on renewables, has chosen to change the name, as the old one did not fit well with the new strategy. Namely, DONG is an abbreviation for Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S (DONG), meaning Danish Oil and Natural Gas. The new name will be Ørsted.

Thomas Thune Andersen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: “DONG was originally short for Danish Oil and Natural Gas. With our profound strategic transformation and the divestment of our upstream oil and gas business, this is no longer who we are. Therefore, now is the right time to change our name.”

“Our vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today, and to avoid causing serious harm to the global ecosystems, we need to fundamentally change the way we power the world by switching from black to green energy,” Thomas Thune Andersen said.

Henrik Poulsen, the company’s CEO, said: “2017 will be remembered as the year when offshore wind became cheaper than black energy, as demonstrated by the recent tenders for offshore wind in Germany and the UK. It has never been more clear that it is possible to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. The time is now right for us to change our name to demonstrate that we want to help create such a world.”

DONG Energy will keep its current name some more, as the company directors have called an Extraordinary General Meeting on October 30, 2017 to ask shareholders to approve a change of the company’s name to Ørsted.

The new name – Ørsted – references the innovative Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851). Ørsted spearheaded several scientific discoveries, including the discovery of electromagnetism in 1820, which helped lay the scientific foundation for how today’s societies are powered.

Henrik Poulsen explained: “We’ve undertaken significant efforts to find the right name and brand identity for our company. Our new name recognises H.C. Ørsted’s curiosity, dedication and interest in nature and our brand identity speaks to the innovation and profound understanding of nature, which is vital to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy.”