The informal award higlights organizations promoting fossil fuel interests in Norway. The winner will be decided by the audience at Petrogandafestivalen 2026, happening in Stavanger the 25th. and 26th. of August.
The Petroganda Award is awarded to the nominee who have promoted the interests of the fossil fuel industry in Norway in the most reprehensible way. The audience at the festival will vote on the winner.
The award will be presented by energy analyst Ketan Joshi like he did at the very first Petroganda Award in Oslo in 2025.
The nominees for the Petroganda Award 2026 are:
1. Folkehallene (Stavanger Region)
Folkehallene in the Stavanger region are nominated for their collaboration with the fossil fuel company Vår Energi. Folkehallene helps Vår Energi build an image of the oil company as a community builder engaged in the well being of children's health and future.
Five local sports arenas are all named after the fossil fuel company:
Vår Energi Arena Forus
Vår Energi Arena Randaberg
Vår Energi Arena Sandneshallen
Vår Energi Arena Sola
Vår Energi Arena Sørmarka
The arenas had 966.000 visitors in 2024. All local kindergartens and schools have access to the arenas which are heavily decorated with the Vår Energi logo.
Torger Rød, COO Vår Energi:
“This is a fantastic concept, and the focus on children and youth fits perfectly with our vision of creating a better future.“ Link
Karton Nilsen, director Folkehallene:
“The agreement with Vår Energi will make a big difference in the work of building a better future for the region's children and young people.”
Vår Energi is Europe’s largest independent oil and gas producer, majority owned by Italian oil company ENI.
2. Kreftforeningen (The Norwegian Cancer Society)
The Norwegian Cancer Society is nominated for their collaboration with the Norwegian fossil fuel industry at this year's ONS.
The climate crisis is a health crisis of unimaginably proportions. The health organisation giving legitimacy to the fossil fuel industry at ONS is remarkable, especially after a summer with thousands of people dying from extreme heat.
In addition to collaborating on the run ONS+ Relay Race, the health organisation also has a stand during the conference.
The ONS+ Relay Race is a collaboration between ONS and the Norwegian Cancer Society - “because energy and health goes together”. Around 40% of the participants in the race are children.
Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross, General Secretary of the Norwegian Cancer Society about the ONS collaboration in 2024:
“We fight cancer locally, nationally and globally. Through research and preventive measures, information, support, advice and lobbying. We believe us working together (with ONS) will help people affected by cancer to have a better life. Link
The chair of the board at the cancer society is Norwegian major oil power player Øyvind Eriksen, CEO and president Aker ASA (largest shareholder of fossil fuel company Aker BP).
3. Arctic Race of Norway
The Arctic Race of Norway is nominated for giving Equinor free access to influence local communities and national stakeholders to secure the current and future oil explorations in the north of Norway.
Equinor gains massive visibility as the main sponsor of the Arctic Race of Norway. The agreement runs until 2030.
This year the race went through Vesterålen and Equinor used the opportunity to have formal and informal meetings with business representatives and politicians.
As the discussion about opening up Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja for oil exploration is surfacing again, Equinor has already spent years in the region influencing local communities and politicians.
The bike ride engages volunteers, families and the business community in a large public celebration that portrays the fossil fuel industry as the world's best neighbor and an integral part of a vibrant and sustainable northern Norway.
Equinor's Head of Sponsorship, Thea Moen, on the Arctic Race:
“They leave a positive mark on Northern Norway every year and are constantly working to improve the sustainability of the event through environmental and social initiatives. That's how we think at Equinor too.” Link
The international cycle expert Matt Rendell calls for the cycling sport to stop “selling it to petrostates, oil and gas giants and high-polluting petrochemicals companies” in this article about the Arctic Race of Norway.
4. Dagsavisen
Norwegian daily paper Dagsavisen is nominated for their editorial this summer giving uncritical support of Equinor's plans for the oilfield Wisting in the Barents Sea. The editorial is “a commentary that expresses the newspaper's opinions and positions”.
The editorial repeats word for word fossil fuel industry’s narratives and petroganda:
“If Europe is to manage a transition to a secure, independent and more environmentally friendly energy supply, it must have access to fossil fuels during a transitional period.”
It fails to mention that opening up new major fossil fuel installations will keep the emissions pumping decades after the current situation in Europa.
The editorial also supports Norway lobbying to end the moratorium in EU oil and gas extraction in the Arctic:
“Wisting could become profitable because of important diplomatic work that Norway has done in the EU. The Union has adopted a moratorium on oil and gas extraction in the Arctic. At the same time, they buy a lot of gas from Melkøya. It is a paradox that Jonas Gahr Støre and Espen Barth EIde have done a good job of highlighting.”
The opening of major installations in the Barents Sea is a security threat in itself, as reported by the Norwegian Climate Foundation.
6. First Scandinavia: First Lego League
First Scandinavia is the organisation organizing the First Lego League in Norway and Sweden. They are nominated for giving Equinor direct access to advertise towards tens of thousands of young children each year.
The children are dressed up in t-shirts with Equinor logos and the fossil fuel company logos are present all over the event arenas.
First Lego League is one of the world's largest knowledge and technology competitions. It is sponsored by Equinor in Norway, Sweden and Brazil.
The competition is aimed at children aged 6-16, and is often organised by schools and science centres. In 2026 the theme for the competition is BIOGLOW:
In this year's mission, BIOGLOW, we draw attention to nature's diversity and the challenges that threaten life on earth. Join in developing solutions that can contribute to a positive change!
Marianne Ljumsen from First Scandinavia to Swedish newspaper ETC:
“Equinor is not a fossil fuel company but an energy company that takes responsibility in the transition we are in.” Link
400 teams in Norway and Sweden have signed up so far.
6. NRK Nyhetsmorgen (NRK Morning News)
Norwegian national broadcaster NRK is nominated for consistently, four times a year, inviting Equinor CEO Anders Opedal into their studio to talk about the company’s quarterly results.
The segments are an uncritical celebration of Equinor earnings: “look how much money we made this quarter” with little to no critical questions on the climate consequences of the oil and gas export. Norwegian oil's contribution to the climate crisis is not a topic and no critical experts are ever included in this PR-happening.
About the Petroganda Award:
In October 2025 Klimakultur arranged the very first, and very informal, Petroganda Award in Oslo in connection with Petrogandafestivalen. The award brought attention to 32 nominees in 8 different categories who had promoted the interests of the fossil fuel industry in Norway. The Norwegian Red Cross and the Norwegian Refugee Council were selected as winners by the audience.
