Equinor ASA had second-quarter 2021 net income of $1.94 billion, up from a loss of $250 million in second-quarter 2020. Equinor said results of all exploration and production segments were positively impacted by higher commodity prices.
Combined with taxes paid based on the low 2020 results this contributed strongly to group cash flow, the company reported. “Strict capital discipline and a net cash flow of more than $4.5 billion, reduce our net debt ratio to 16.4% and make us robust for volatility in commodity prices going forward,” said Anders Opedal, president and chief executive officer of Equinor.
Results from the marketing, midstream, and processing segment were impacted by losses on hedges of gas forward sales, shut down of the Hammerfest LNG plant, and weak refinery margins, Equinor said.
The company reported progressing its projects with the Norwegian government’s approval of its development plan for Breidablikk field (OGJ Online, June 29, 2021), start-up of the 260-MMboe Martin Linge field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf , and final investment decision on Bacalhau Phase 1 offshore in Brazilian presalt Santos basin. The company also submitted its plan for development and operation of Troll West electrification and reported progress on Hywind Tampen floating windfarm to power offshore oil and gas platforms.
Equinor had total equity production of 1.997 MMboe/d in second-quarter 2021, down from 2.011 MMboe/d in the same period of 2020. Equinor said it had completed 11 exploration wells with five commercial discoveries and 12 wells ongoing at the end of second-quarter 2021. Bredablikk production is scheduled to start first-half 2024.
The company’s renewables segment lost $31 million, down from a $1-million loss in second-quarter 2020. Equinor expects gross investments in renewables of around $23 billion from 2021 to 2026, and to increase the share of gross investments for renewables and low carbon solutions from around 4% in 2020 to more than 50% by 2030. By 2035, Equinor’s ambition is to develop the capacity to store 15 -30 million tonnes/year of CO2 and to provide clean hydrogen in 3-5 industrial clusters.