LNG

A review of the EU’s Arctic policy running through March 16, 2026, places fresh emphasis on gas from Norway’s Barents Sea which could lower Europe’s reliance on LNG imports. The resource base is substantial: The parts of the Barents Sea already open to exploration, according to Norwegian Offshore Directorate estimates, hold around 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of natural gas, or about 22 trillion cubic feet.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said people are witnessing a rare event to see such high levels of natural gas and oil produced on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as was the case last year and significant investment decisions have also been made for future output including on LNG for a longer term from the Hammerfest liquefaction plant.

Aug 29 (LNGJ) – The 140,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Arctic Voyager” is unloading a shipment at the Bilbao terminal in northwest Spain from the Hammerfest plant in Norway operated by Equinor, according to shipping data. The 155,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “British Diamond” will deliver a cargo on August 30 to the Japanese Ishikari terminal, operated by Hokkaido Gas, from the Papua New Guinea export plant operated by ExxonMobil. The 160,500 cubic metres capacity “Sonangol Sambizanga” will unload a shipment on September 1 at the Dahej terminal in India, operated by Petronet, from the Anglo plant at Soyo in southwest Africa. The 210,000 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex vessel “Al Oraiq” will deliver a cargo on September 6 to the Shanwei terminal in the southern Guangdong province of China from the Ras Laffan plant in Qatar. The 145,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “LNG Jupiter” will unload a shipment on September 15 at the Incheon terminal in South Korea from the Oman plant at Sur on the Arabian peninsula.

Equinor, the Norwegian energy company formerly known as Statoil has awarded a major contract to Nexans in France to design, manufacture and supply a total of 42 kilometres of static infield and inter-field umbilicals to control the subsea production systems linked to the Hammerfest LNG plant.

May 14 (LNGJ) - Statoil, the Norwegian energy company and operator of Europe’s only major LNG production plant at Hammerfest, will change its name from May 16 to Equinor. The new name will be proposed to a meeting of shareholders on May 15. The Norwegian government, as the majority shareholder, supports the proposal and will vote in favour of the resolution. This means that May 15 will be the last day of Statoil trading on the Oslo stock exchange under the ticker “STL”. From May 16 the company will trade under the new ticker “EQNR”, which will also be the ticker name of the company’s American Deposit Rights traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The name Equinor is formed by combining “equi”, the starting point for words like equal, equality and equilibrium and “nor” for its Norwegian origin.

March 15 (LNGJ) - Statoil, the Norwegian energy company and operator of Europe’s only baseload LNG production plant at Hammerfest, is planning to change the name of the company to Equinor. “The name change supports the company’s strategy and development as a broad energy company,” said Statoil. “The name Equinor is formed by combining ‘equi’, the starting point for words like equal, equality and equilibrium, and ‘nor’, signalling a company proud of its Norwegian origin,” explained the company. Statoil Board Chairman Jon Erik Reinhardsen said the world is changing and so is Statoil. “The biggest transition our modern-day energy systems have ever seen is underway and we aim to be at the forefront of this development. Our strategy remains firm. The name Equinor reflects ongoing changes and supports the always-safe, high-value and low-carbon strategy we outlined last year,” said Reinhardsen.

Norwegian energy company Statoil, operator of Europe’s only baseload LNG plant, was fined $4 million by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission for attempting to manipulate an Asian-priced gas market in 2011.

Norwegian LNG supplier and operator Skangas has started small-scale deliveries from Europe’s only baseload liquefaction plant at Hammerfest, operated by Statoil, with the first cargo going to Sweden.

Norwegian energy company Statoil has chosen a joint venture comprising French energy company Engie and two Japanese partners to supply LNG marine fuel in the Dutch port of Rotterdam for four crude oil shuttle tankers.

July 27 (LNG) - Norwegian energy company Statoil, whose assets include the only export-sized LNG plant in Europe at Hammerfest, reported adjusted second-quarter earnings of US$3.0 billion and adjusted earnings after tax of $1.3Bln compared with a $28 million loss in the same three months of 2016. “Our solid financial results and strong cash flow are driven by good operational performance with high production efficiency and continued cost improvements,” said Chief Executive Eldar Saetre. “At oil prices around $50 per barrel, we have generated $4Bln in free cash flow and reduced our net debt ratio by 8.1 percentage points since the start of the year. We expect to deliver around 5 percent production growth this year, and at the same time realise an additional $1Bln in efficiencies,” added Saetre.