Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has updated its strategy to focus on increasing oil and gas production while cutting investments in renewable energy. Key points of the new strategy:

Increasing oil and gas production

Equinor plans to increase oil and gas production by more than 10% between 2024 and 2027.
By 2030, the company aims to produce 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from its previous forecast of 2 million barrels.

Cutting investments in renewable energy

The target for installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 has been reduced from 12-16 GW to 10-12 GW. Investments in renewable energy and low-carbon solutions have been cut to about $5 billion for the period 2025-2027. The company has abandoned a number of wind energy projects, including offshore wind farms in Vietnam, Spain, Portugal, France and Australia.

Reasons for the changes

The main reason for the strategy adjustment is the lack of profitability of renewable energy projects.
Equinor will focus on the most profitable projects, reducing investments in less profitable ones.

Emissions targets

Equinor maintains the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 50% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

However, the targets for reducing specific emissions (net carbon intensity) have been softened: instead of 20% by 2030 and 40% by 2035, it is now planned to reduce by 15-20% and 30-40%, respectively.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Equinor continues to develop CCS projects, with a storage capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 in its portfolio. The target of storing 30-50 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2035 remains in force.

Context and external influences

Equinor is in an advantageous position due to sanctions on Russian energy resources, which allows it to increase oil and gas production and sales. The political situation in the United States, where the company also operates in the field of renewable energy, may have influenced the adjustment of the strategy.

Industry trends

Equinor follows the example of other European oil and gas companies such as Shell and BP, which have also reduced investments in renewable energy and low-carbon projects, focusing on the most profitable areas. Equinor is thus focusing on maximizing returns from traditional energy resources, while maintaining ambitions in the field of emissions reduction and the development of CCS technologies. However, reducing investments in renewable energy and softening climate targets may raise questions from environmental groups and sustainability-oriented investors.