Norway's state-controlled champion Statoil is set to approve a name change tomorrow, paving the way for a new life as Equinor starting Wednesday.

With backing from the government and its 67% stake, the proposed name change will get a majority at the company's annual general meeting tomorrow, despite calls from some politicians that Parliament should debate the issue first.

By dropping the "state" prefix and the "oil" suffix, the 46-year-old company is looking towards a future where its activities become more international, with a larger share of investments spent on natural gas and renewable energy sources.

"The name Equinor is formed by combining “equi”, the starting point for words like equal, equality and equilibrium, and “nor”, signalling a company proud of its Norwegian origin," chief executive Eldar Saetre said when the change was announced in March.

Statoil's shares will start trading under its new ticker EQNR on the Oslo Stock Exchange on 16 May.

The same ticker will also be used for the company's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange, starting on 17 May at the earliest.

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Statoil to trot out new name