Norwegian lawmakers on Dec. 7 urged the government to use its majority ownership of the country’s oil and gas firm Equinor more actively after huge losses in the United States, blamed on a risky growth strategy and lack of controls.

Equinor, previously called Statoil, made a series of acquisitions of onshore and offshore petroleum reserves in the United States in the years before the 2014-2016 oil price crash, eventually leading to accumulated losses and write-offs of more than $20 billion.

The Energy and Environment Committee of the Norwegian parliament said on Dec. 7 that the oil and energy ministry was too passive in its dialogue with Equinor, despite its 67% stake.

“The majority believes that in the future there is a need for a clearer guidance in this corporate governance ...,” the committee said in conclusions backed by the opposition Labour Party, Center Party, Socialist Left Party and the Green Party.

The opposition parties could replace the minority government of Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg after general elections next September, the latest polls show.

Representatives of the ruling parties said they didn’t see what the government could have done differently given the state’s tradition of dealing with Equinor at an arm’s length.

While the government owns a majority stake in Equinor and conducts regular meetings with its chairman and executives, it does not have a seat on the board and is not involved in day-to-day operations of the Oslo-listed firm.

Lawmakers said, however, they couldn’t find any instances of Equinor’s conduct changing as a consequence of the government’s dialogue with the company over recent years.

An Equinor spokesman said the company didn’t want to comment on the lawmakers’ conclusions, while the oil and energy ministry was not immediately available to comment.

Equinor has admitted its management should have seen and addressed problems in the United States sooner after a company-commissioned report highlighted lack of risk controls.