Equinor to close up Russian operations
Equinor has followed BP in announcing plans to withdraw from Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegian state-owned company said on February 28.
"We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world, and we are thinking of all those who are suffering because of the military action," Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
Equinor said that the current situation made its position in Russia "untenable." Not only will it stop investing in Russia, but it will also begin withdrawing from its existing joint ventures there.
The company, which has worked in Russia since 2013, had $1.2bn in non-current assets in the country as of the end of last year. Equinor is partnered with Rosneft in joint ventures developing oil in east Siberia, west Siberia and the Volga-Urals area. It also has a 30% interest in the Zarubezhneft-operated Kharyaga production-sharing agreement in the northern Timan-Pechora basin.
Equinor nets 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day of production from its Russian business, according to its website.
Other international oil companies with significant exposure in Russia include TotalEnergies, a shareholder in Novatek and a partner at the Russian company's Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG-2 projects. Shell is partnered with Gazprom Neft in the Salym petroleum development and with Gazprom at the Sakhalin-2 oil and LNG project, while ExxonMobil operates the Sakhalin-1 oil venture, which also involves Rosneft.