Equinor records Q3 earnings of $780 million

Oct. 29, 2020
Equinor recorded adjusted earnings of $780 million and $270 million after tax in third-quarter 2020, down from $2.59 billion and $1.08 billion, respectively, in in the same period in 2019.

Equinor recorded adjusted earnings of $780 million and $270 million after tax in third-quarter 2020, down from $2.59 billion and $1.08 billion, respectively, in in the same period in 2019. Low prices for liquids and gas impacted the earnings for the quarter.

IFRS net operating income was negative $2.02 billion and the IFRS net income was negative $2.12 billion, following net impairments of $2.93 billion mainly due to reduced future price assumptions.

In the E&P Norway segment, Equinor saw weak prices impacting the results but took advantage of the flexibility in gas production as gas prices in Europe recovered through the quarter.

Results in the E&P international segment were impacted by low prices, partially offset by a substantial reduction in costs. The E&P USA segment was also impacted by weak prices, while continuing efforts to reduce activity and costs.

The marketing, midstream and processing segment captured value from gas sales to Europe, offset by slightly negative refinery margins in the quarter.

New energy solutions delivered a positive result in the quarter, including costs related to maturation of new projects. A capital gain of around $1 billion from the divestment of a 50% non-operated interest of the offshore wind projects Empire Wind and Beacon Wind in the US is expected to be booked in the first quarter of 2021.

Equinor delivered total equity production of 1.994 million boe/d in the third quarter, up from 1.909 million boe/d in the same period in 2019, with an increased share of gas. Adjusting for portfolio transactions and government-imposed curtailments, this represents an underlying production growth of around 9% compared to third-quarter 2019.

At the end of the third quarter Equinor has completed 26 exploration wells with 13 commercial discoveries and two wells under evaluation. At the quarter end, 16 wells were ongoing. Adjusted exploration expenses in the quarter were $300 million, compared to $260 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Cash flows provided by operating activities before taxes paid and changes in working capital amounted to $10.2 billion in the first 9 months of 2020, compared to $16.6 billion in the first 9 months of 2019. Organic capital expenditure was $5.99 billion for the first 9 months of 2020.