LNG

Norway’s national energy company Equinor, a main pipeline natural gas and LNG supplier to Europe as well as being a prominent trader, made total tax contributions of over $49 billion in the last tax year, including $1Bln in environmental taxes under the EU Emissions Trading System, as prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Equinor said it focused on securing safe and reliable delivery of energy and became the largest provider of natural gas to Europe as supplies from Russian supplier Gazprom virtually ended.

“Equinor is dedicated to contributing to progress for the societies where we operate, and paying tax where value is created is an important part of this,” said Equinor Chief Financial Officer Torgrim Reitan.

Special year

“It was also a special year in 2022 in the energy markets with high and volatile prices, followed by substantial tax contributions,” Reitan added.

Equinor group companies contributed with tax, host government entitlements, royalties and fee payments totalling $49.2Bln. Of this, $44.3Bln was paid to Norway, where Equinor has the largest operations.

The company explained that financial results in 2022 were strengthened by the higher prices across energy markets compared with 2021 and with particularly high prices and higher production of gas to Europe.

“Tax payments from Equinor provides governments and authorities with opportunities to increase welfare and strengthen their societies,” said Equinor.

Governance

The Tax Contribution Report provides information about the corporate income tax Equinor paid in countries and locations where it does business.

“The report discloses Equinor’s approach to tax and tax strategy, compliance, and governance,” it added.

Equinor also emphasized that it supported policies promoting the goals of the Paris Agreement and backed a price on carbon emissions as a measure to drive emissions reductions.

“The CO2 tax in Norway has promoted development of technology and solutions to produce oil and gas with lower emissions from operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” said CFO Reitan.

In 2022, Equinor said it paid $1.1 billion in environmental taxes and fees, including carbon quotas within the EU Emissions Trading System.

Feb 2 (LNGJ) – The Nigerian export plant at Bonny island is keeping up the flow of LNG deliveries to terminals in the European Union. The 142,650 cubic metres capacity vessel “LNG Adamawa” is heading for the French Mediterranean port of Fos-sur-Mer to deliver a cargo on February 3 from the Nigerian export facility.

   The 177,000 cubic metres capacity carrier vessel “LNG Bonny II” is heading for the southeast Spanish port of Cartagena and will arrive on February 3. Another Nigerian delivery is scheduled for the Huelva terminal in southwest Spain with the 148,480 cubic metres capacity “LNG Ondo” set to berth on February 9.

The US government reported that the increase in the nation’s liquefied natural gas exports was supported by large prices differences between the benchmark Henry Hub and spot prices in Europe and Asia and forecast a surge in shipments through March 2022.

Algerian state energy company Sonatrach, one of the main suppliers of LNG and pipeline natural gas to Europe, has commissioned the Boosting III project for the Hassi R'mel gas hub in Laghouat province of central Algeria, which produces and supplies over half of the nation’s natural gas.

Natural gas benchmark prices in the UK and the Netherlands, which help determine LNG cargo values, have plunged to seasonal lows for winter with weather fluctuations having little impact because of very full storage across Europe.