Equinor Infuses $6B Annually To Maintain Norway's Oil Game: Report

The Norwegian energy giant Equinor ASA EQNR reportedly invests around $6 billion a year in oil and gas exploration and drilling in the country to maintain continued output levels through 2035.

CEO Anders Opedal told Reuters, “We couldn’t invest more per year without losing efficiency and degrading the efficiency of our investments.”

Equinor has currently become Europe’s main gas supplier, replacing Russia after the European Union sanctioned Russian gas imports amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, reported Reuters.

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As per the CEO, Equinor’s net share of production is around 40 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year on average, which it plans to maintain stable into 2035, and it also plans to sharply grow its solar and wind power generation by the end of the decade.

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The CEO further added that European gas stocks are “in a good position” and are expected to be above 50% of storage capacity at the end of winter in April, he said.

As per the report, Equinor presently said that it has 50 oil and gas projects either underway or in planning stages in the Norwegian North Sea to maintain output and offset the natural decline of existing fields. The company aims to drill 30 exploration wells annually in the next decade.

Moreover, Philippe Mathieu, head of international oil and gas production, told Reuters that his division intends to maintain steady output outside Norway by 2035 through investments mainly in its current production hubs, including Britain, the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and Angola.

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Going forward, Equinor plans to explore oil and gas resources in new areas such as offshore Canada’s east coast and Argentina.

As per the report, in 2023, Norway exported around 109 bcm of gas through its 8,800-km (5,468-mile) pipeline network connecting it to Europe vs. 116.9 bcm a year earlier.

Price Action: EQNR shares closed down 0.68% at $26.45 on Tuesday.