Equinor publishes energy transition plan

Equinor has published an energy transition strategy paper to be submitted to its shareholders for approval at its annual general meeting on May 11.

The company said April 19 it was working toward its 2050 carbon neutrality objectives through "short-term actions" and "medium-term ambitions." Organic capital expenditures in oil and gas will not change in the next two years, remaining at around $8bn until the middle of the decade.

Organic capital expenditure in oil and gas will remain at $8bn over the next two years, Equinor said. By 2030 a 50% share of its capital expenditure will go to renewables and low carbon solutions, from around 4% of spending two years ago. Those spends will be used to accrue renewable generation capacity of between 12,000MW and 16,000MW by 2030, five years earlier than previously anticipated.

"To decarbonise society, we need to be effective agents of change in the energy transition. We have a set a clear direction to apply our experience, competence and the financial muscle from oil and gas to new value creating sectors of the energy system," said Equinor's board chair Jon Erik Reinhardsen.

Traditional end-use applications of oil and gas, like heating, electricity generation and refined fuel, will continue to be supported. Equinor will also look to convert fossil fuel investments into decarbonised energy sources. These could include hydrogen, ammonia or adding carbon capture and storage to industrial processes.

In line with its net zero commitments, Equinor expects to reduce net scope 1 and 2 emissions from across its operations by 50% before 2030, relative to 2015 levels. The company says the target aligns with Paris agreement objectives and forecast scenarios that predict the thresholds needed to contain global temperature rises to 1.5°C.