Equinor has appointed Anders Opedal as president and chief executive officer, effective Nov. 2, succeeding Eldar Sætre who will remain available to advise the new chief executive until his retirement Mar. 1, 2021, after 6 years as chief executive officer and more than 40 years at the company.
In a statement, the company said it is “entering a phase of significant change as the world needs to take more forceful action to combat climate change,” and that the board’s mandate “is for Anders to accelerate our development as a broad energy company and to increase value creation for our shareholders through the energy transition," said Jon Erik Reinhardsen, chair of the board of directors.
Effective immediately, Opedal will step out of his role as executive vice-president of technology, projects, and drilling and Geir Tungesvik will step into the role as acting executive vice-president. Until commencement of the role as chief executive officer, Opedal will be executive vice-president reporting to Sætre and will be part of the corporate executive committee.
Opedal joined Equinor as a petroleum engineer in 1997. He has served as executive vice-president and chief operating officer and as senior vice-president and country manager Brazil.