Kjetil Hove, Executive Vice President at Stavanger-based oil and gas giant Equinor, who runs the company’s operations on the Norwegian shelf, has ventured that Norwegian gas will play an important role for Europe for a long time.
While a number of European countries are cutting their use of Russian gas and trying to extricate themselves completely from Russian energy, Hove suggested that Equinor's most important contribution for Europe is to continue to supply oil and gas to the continent.
“We believe Europe will need gas for many decades to come. We believe Norwegian gas is very well positioned because we have low costs, and the infrastructure has already been developed”, Hove told the newspaper Klassekampen.
According to him, low carbon dioxide emissions in oil and gas production can also be an important advantage.
“Yes, the world is transforming and adopting other energy sources, but in a transitional period, you will still need oil and gas. If we can be competitive and have the lowest possible carbon dioxide footprint in production, then that is what the world needs, we believe,” he concluded.
Earlier this week, Equinor reported record quarterly earnings of nearly NOK 170 billion ($18 billion). The company stressed that the quarter was marked by Russia's special operation in Ukraine, which it, in line with most of the West, called an “invasion” and a “dark moment for Europe”. This, according to Equinor, affected energy markets and led to higher commodity prices and fluctuations.
“After operating in Russia for three decades, we considered the situation unsustainable and quickly decided to stop new investments in the country and start the process of withdrawing from Equinor’s Russian joint ventures. The withdrawal from Russia affects our employees and leads to write-downs of our assets in the country in this quarter,” CEO Anders Opedal said, calling “reliable and safe deliveries” the company's top priority.
Opedal emphasised that the company has the production capacity to deliver more gas. Among other things, the LNG plant on Melkøya in Hammerfest is scheduled to start up on 17 May, which was closed due to a large fire in September 2020.
In 2021, Norway supplied close to a quarter of gas demand in the European Union and the UK. In March, it pledged to boost its natural gas output in the coming months, in order to deliver bigger volumes to Europe at a time of shortages and soaring prices.
On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations and shelling, following a gruelling eight-year war in Donbass. In response to Russia’s operation, the Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign, designed to cripple the Russian economy, and vowed to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
Subsequently, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree requiring gas payments in rubles. It stipulates that all contracts for pipeline gas deliveries with companies from “unfriendly” nations be settled in the Russian national currency. The majority of European countries rejected Russia's demand, with EU officials pledging to eventually abandon Russian energy altogether. In late April, Russian energy giant Gazprom suspended gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland due to their rejection of the new payment procedure.