Equinor beats expectations as oil firm unveils new climate programme
Norway’s Equinor trumped analyst expectations today by posting a smaller than expected drop in profits in the final quarter, as it unveiled a raft of new climate commitments.
Profit before tax at the state-owned firm fell to $3.5bn (£2.7bn), down from $4.4bn for the same period last year, but ahead of forecasts of $3.3bn.
The company said that output would increase seven per cent in 2020 as production at the giant Johan Sverdup field in the North Sea grows.
Simultaneously Equinor announced a suite of environmental measures to tackle climate change, including a commitment to reduce carbon intensity from all emissions connected to the company by 50 per cent by 2050.
This means that by that date each unit of energy produced will, on average, have less than half of the emissions compared to today.
The ambition even includes scope three emissions, those created by customers in Equinor’s value chain. According to the firm, these account for 85 per cent of all emissions.
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The firm also said that by 2030 all of its operations around the world would be carbon neutral.
Equinor will also grow its renewable capacity to four to six gigawatts by 2026, roughly 10 times what it is today, with aims to expand to 12 to 16 gigawatts by 2035.
A portfolio of this size would contribute up to 10 per cent of the Norwegian firm’s returns.
Equinor chief executive Eldar Sætre said: “Our strategic direction is clear. We are developing as a broad energy company, leveraging the strong synergies between oil, gas, renewables, CCUS and hydrogen.
“We will continue addressing our own emissions in line with the emitter pays principle. But, we can and will do much more.
“As part of the energy industry, we must be part of the solution to combat climate change and address decarbonisation more broadly in line with changes in society”.