Equinor facts for kids
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Formerly
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Statoil (until 15 May 2018) |
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| State-owned Allmennaksjeselskap |
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| Traded as |
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| Industry | Petroleum industry |
| Founded | 14 June 1972 |
| Headquarters | Stavanger, Norway |
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Key people
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Jon Erik Reinhardsen (Chair) Anders Opedal (CEO) |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$90.92 billion (2021) |
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Operating income
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US$33.66 billion (2021) |
| US$8.58 billion (2021) |
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| Total assets | US$147.12 billion (2021) |
| Total equity | US$39.01 billion (2021) |
| Owner |
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Number of employees
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21,126 (2021) |
Equinor ASA is a big energy company from Norway. It used to be called Statoil. The company's main office is in Stavanger, Norway.
Equinor mostly works with petroleum (oil) and natural gas. But it also invests in renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Equinor operates in many countries around the world.
The company was formed in 2007. This happened when Statoil merged with the oil and gas part of another company called Norsk Hydro. The Government of Norway owns most of Equinor, about 67% of its shares. This means it's a state-owned company.
The name Equinor was chosen in 2018. It combines equi, which means things like fairness and balance, with nor, which shows it's from Norway. The old name, Statoil, meant 'state oil' in Norwegian.
Contents
Equinor's Story
Equinor's history comes from three important Norwegian oil companies. These were Statoil, Norsk Hydro, and Saga Petroleum. Saga Petroleum joined with Norsk Hydro in 1999.
The Early Days of Statoil
The original Statoil company was started on July 14, 1972. The Norwegian government owned it completely. The idea was for Norway to be more involved in its own oil industry. This helped Norway build its own skills in the oil business.
In 1973, Statoil began working in the petrochemical industry. This led to building processing plants. One plant was in Rafnes, and another was the Mongstad plant.
In 1981, Statoil became the first Norwegian company to manage an oil field. This was the Gullfaks field in the Norwegian continental shelf. In the late 1980s, a big project at Mongstad faced some problems.
Statoil decided to become a full-service oil company in the 1980s. It started its own fuel station brand. It bought stations in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Later, it also bought stations in Ireland. In the 1990s, Statoil opened stations in Eastern Europe too.
In 1991, there were environmental concerns about a new building. Statoil wanted to build a research center in Trondheim. This area was a wetlands with lots of birds. The center was still built despite the protests.
In 2001, Statoil became a public company. Its shares were sold on stock exchanges in Oslo and New York. The government still owned a large part of the company. By 2005, the government's share was 70.9%.
The company faced challenges related to its international business practices. In 2006, it paid a fine for issues in its business in Iran.
In 2007, Statoil made a deal with Petrobras, a Brazilian oil company. They planned to explore for oil and gas together. They also wanted to work on biofuels. In 2008, Statoil bought a large share of the Peregrino oil field in Brazil.
Statoil also invested in oil sands in Canada. In 2007, it bought a large area there.
In 2009, Statoil launched the world's first large floating wind turbine. It was called Hywind. This tall turbine was tested offshore near Stavanger.
Hydro's Role in Energy
In 1965, Hydro joined other companies to search for oil and gas. They worked in the North Sea. Hydro became a major player in the North Sea oil industry. It also managed several oil fields, like Oseberg.
In the late 1980s, Hydro bought Mobil fuel stations in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They changed the names to Hydro stations. In 1995, Hydro combined its stations in Norway and Denmark with Texaco. This created HydroTexaco. These stations were later sold in 2006.
In 1999, Hydro bought Saga Petroleum. Saga Petroleum was Norway's third-largest oil company. It had big operations in Norway and the United Kingdom.
The Big Merger
A plan to merge Statoil and Hydro's oil and gas parts was announced in 2006. The European Union and the Norwegian Parliament approved the merger in 2007. Statoil's shareholders owned most of the new company. The Norwegian government, which owned parts of both companies, ended up with 67% of the new company.
The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, said the merger was a new beginning. He believed it would create a global energy company. It would also make Norway's oil and gas industry stronger.
Experts thought the merger would make the new company more competitive. It could better compete with larger European rivals. It would also help the company make more big purchases. The new company became one of the largest oil companies in the world.
The company's first CEO was Helge Lund. The company was temporarily named StatoilHydro. In 2009, it changed its name back to Statoil ASA. The Norwegian government wanted to own 67% of Statoil. By 2009, they reached this goal.
New Projects and Changes After 2009
In 2010, Statoil separated its fuel station business. This new company was called Statoil Fuel & Retail. In 2012, a Canadian company bought Statoil Fuel & Retail.
Statoil continued to explore for oil and gas. In 2010, it found new oil and gas reserves in the Norwegian Sea. In 2011, it sold some shares in a gas pipeline project. Statoil also sold its oil sand operations in Canada in 2016.
Between 2011 and 2012, Statoil made several big oil discoveries. These included finds in the North Sea and the Barents Sea.
In 2011, Statoil bought Brigham Exploration. This gave it access to oil shale operations in North Dakota, USA.
In 2016, Statoil bought a large share of the Carcará oil field in Brazil. In 2014, Statoil sold its share in the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan. Since 2014, Statoil has also supplied natural gas to Ukraine.
Statoil started investing more in renewable energy. In 2016, it bought a share in a US wind turbine leasing company. The company believes oil demand will start to drop in the 2020s. This is partly due to more electric vehicles.
Even after not finding oil in the Arctic in 2017, Statoil said it would keep exploring there. In 2017, Statoil started the Hywind Scotland floating wind farm. This was off the coast of Scotland. Equinor also got a contract to build a wind tower assembly farm in New York City.
In 2018, Statoil bought a share in two offshore wind farms in Poland. In 2024, Equinor made a long-term deal to supply natural gas liquids to an Indian company.
Becoming Equinor
On March 15, 2018, Statoil announced it would change its name to Equinor. This change was approved by its shareholders.
In August 2020, Anders Opedal became Equinor's new CEO. That year, the company announced it would reduce staff. This was due to falling oil prices.
In January 2021, Equinor won a contract to provide offshore wind power to New York City. This was in partnership with BP. It was the biggest offshore wind deal by an American state at that time.
In February 2021, Equinor sold its shale assets in North Dakota. The company also said it might sell more energy assets in the US.
In May 2021, Equinor partnered with an Italian energy company, Eni. They plan to develop floating wind farms in the North Sea. Equinor also partnered with Vårgrønn to get wind areas in the North Sea.
How Equinor Operates
Finding and Producing Oil and Gas
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Equinor is the biggest company working on the Norwegian continental shelf. It handles 60% of all oil and gas production there. It manages many oil and gas fields. These include Gullfaks, Heidrun, Oseberg, and Troll. The company also has processing plants in Norway.
Besides Norway, Equinor operates oil and gas fields in many other countries. These include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Equinor also has offices looking for new projects in Mexico, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. It has processing plants in Belgium, Denmark, France, and Germany.
In 2006, Statoil got approval for a big project. It was the world's largest carbon sequestration project. This helps reduce carbon emissions into the air. Equinor injects CO2 underground at the Sleipner gas field. This has been happening since 1996.
Equinor is also a partner in the Peregrino oil field in Brazil. This field started producing oil in 2011.
Equinor has tried to get involved in the Russian oil business for a long time. It partnered with Russian companies like Gazprom and Rosneft. However, it did not find major oil reserves there. After international sanctions against Russia, Equinor left Russia in September 2022. It sold its Russian assets for a small amount.
Some experts have discussed if oil wealth can be a problem for countries. This is called the resource curse. They say that natural resources are good for countries with strong governments, like Norway. But for countries with weaker governments, they can sometimes lead to slower economic growth.
Running Pipelines
Equinor is involved with many pipelines. These pipelines carry oil and gas from the Norwegian continental shelf to Western Europe. Some examples are Zeepipe and Europipe. The pipelines from Norway are managed through a system called Gassled. Equinor also manages other pipelines in the North Sea.
The company has offices that trade crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids. These offices are in London, Stamford, Connecticut, and Singapore.
Solar Power
Equinor has invested in solar power projects. These projects are in countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Poland.
Wind Energy
Equinor owns and operates the Hywind Scotland floating wind farm. This farm is off the coast of Scotland. Equinor also owns shares in offshore wind farms in Poland and Germany. It manages the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm in the United Kingdom. It also has shares in the Dogger Bank Wind Farm development in the UK.
Fuel Stations
The company used to operate fuel stations under the Statoil brand. It also had automated stations called 1-2-3. Some stations in Denmark and Sweden were called Ingo. In 2007, Statoil bought all Nordic Jet stations. These were later rebranded to Ingo.
In 2010, the fuel station business became a separate company. It was called Statoil Fuel & Retail. Statoil had about 2,300 fuel stations in many countries. These included Denmark, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.
In 2012, a Canadian company bought Statoil Fuel & Retail. In 2016, this company decided to change all the fuel stations to the Circle K brand.
Looking at Equinor's Money
Equinor makes a lot of money each year. In 2021, the company had a profit of $15 billion in the last three months of the year.
Caring for People and the Planet
Human Rights
In 2016, Equinor was recognized for its work on indigenous rights. It was ranked among the top oil, gas, and mining companies in the Arctic for this.
Environmental Efforts
Equinor has worked on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. It has injected CO2 underground at the Sleipner gas field since 1996. This helps store the carbon dioxide instead of releasing it into the air.
Equinor's Support Programs
Equinor supports young talent in different areas. This program is called Morgendagens helter, which means "Tomorrow's heroes."
The program includes two music awards. These awards give money to talented classical music artists and pop/rock artists from Norway. This helps them in their international careers.
There is also an art prize called Statoils kunstpris. This award is given every two years to a talented artist in Norway. It is one of the biggest art prizes in Norway.
Equinor also supports sports like football and skiing. It also helps education, especially in natural sciences. It has a yearly competition for high school students in Norway.
Statoil was a sponsor of the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo.
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