Norway takes 78% of petroleum profits in tax, puts its revenue into the world's largest fund, and each year spends only the expected return (3%). It has topped the resource governance index (Compliance Week).

Key facts

Exhibit 1
ChapterWhat Norway does
2. Tax22% ordinary tax plus 71.8% special tax, for a 78% marginal rate; petroleum tax revenue estimated at NOK 291.5 billion in 2026 (Norsk Petroleum)
3. State companyThe state owns 67% of Equinor, which is run on commercial terms; the stake is managed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (Norsk Petroleum)
3. Direct stake (SDFI)Direct state holdings in fields and pipelines, managed by Petoro (about 80 staff); net cash flow about NOK 193 billion in 2026 (Norsk Petroleum)
6. FundGovernment Pension Fund Global: about US$2.5 trillion (October 2026) (Wikipedia)
6. Fiscal ruleOver time the structural non-oil deficit should equal the fund's real return (3%, cut from 4% in 2017); more can be spent in downturns, less in upturns (Norsk Petroleum, Norges Bank)
7. DistributionNo cash payments; transfers from the fund finance about 27% of the 2026 central government budget, reaching citizens through public services (Government of Norway)

What Mongolia can copy

  • Legislate the withdrawal as a fixed percentage, so politicians stop fighting over how much to take each year.
  • Separate state ownership from commercial management: the ministry owns, a professional board runs the company.
  • A small, professional Petoro-style holder for state stakes, which runs no mines and only oversees the state's share.

What doesn't transfer directly

  • Mongolia has to build its institutions while the revenue is already flowing.
  • A 78% rate fits highly profitable offshore oil, not Mongolia's copper and coal deposits and investment risk profile.

This profile is part of the report Sharing Resource Wealth and focuses on chapters 6 and 7 of the 12-chapter template. Research on the other chapters is in progress.

Sources