Deeply cultivate Norway and reject Venezuela: Equinor (EQNR.US) spends 100 billion dollars to protect Europe's “energy lifeline”

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Norwegian energy giant Equinor (EQNR.US) has signed a contract worth about 100 billion Norwegian kroner (equivalent to 99 billion US dollars) to help maintain the current level of oil and gas production in Norway for at least the next ten years.

The company's CEO Anders Opedal (Anders Opedal) described the Norwegian continental shelf as Equinor's “mainstay” and emphasized its importance to European energy security. Since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict escalated, this Nordic country has been Europe's largest gas supplier for three consecutive years.

According to information, the Norwegian continental shelf is the natural extension of Norway's land to the ocean. It covers the entire natural extension of the land territory beyond its territorial sea, and extends to the seabed and subsoil of the seabed area at the outer edge of the continental margin, and contains rich natural resources.

According to a statement released on Thursday, the deal reached by Equinor with companies such as Aker Solutions ASA (Aker Solutions ASA) and Aibel AS (Aibel AS) is expected to be officially launched within the next few months. These transactions cover the maintenance, repair and transformation of onshore and offshore facilities. The contract is for a period of five years with the possibility of renewal.

Kjetil Hove (Kjetil Hove), Equinor's Executive Vice President for Norwegian Exploration and Production, said: “The continental shelf is maturing, and this requires us to come up with new solutions. Our goal is to maintain a high level of production and ensure a stable supply of energy to Europe by 2035.”

The company plans to produce around 1.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by the middle of the next decade, which is the same as the production level of the past five years.

Equinor plans to invest up to NOK 70 billion a year to drill 250 exploration wells and 600 wells to improve recovery rates.

Equinor clearly has no intention of returning to Venezuela

At around the same time, Equinor's CEO Opedal also said on Wednesday that the company would not consider returning to the Venezuelan market, which it had left many years ago.

Recently, the incident of the US military's capture of Nicolas Maduro attracted attention. Against this backdrop, the oil industry had lively discussions about the development prospects of the West, and American oil companies in particular, in Venezuela. You should know that Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, which are estimated to be around 303 billion barrels.

On the sidelines of a business event in Oslo, Oppedar said: “Currently, this is not within our scope of consideration.” The executive further explained, “We are withdrawing from Venezuela in order to reallocate funds.”

Since the 1990s, Equinor has been operating in Venezuela, actively involved in onshore and offshore projects, investing billions of dollars in the country.

However, as the company realigned its business priorities and shifted its strategic focus, the Norwegian company withdrew from operating in Venezuela in the early 2120s. In 2021, Equinor completed a deal to sell 9.67% of its non-operating interest in Venezuela's onshore Petrocedeño project to Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petróleo Venezuela (PDVSA).

At the time, Equinor issued a statement saying, “This transaction is in line with Equinor's corporate strategy, which is to focus on international core regions and priority geographical regions. In these regions, Equinor can make full use of its competitive advantage.”

Although Equinor has made it clear that it has no intention of returning, other large Western companies are still likely to be lured back to Venezuela if the security situation and legal framework allow.

US President Donald Trump has been expecting major US oil companies to return to Venezuela and invest in rebuilding the country's oil infrastructure. On Monday, Trump said in an interview that American Petroleum is expected to “start operations” in the Venezuelan oil sector within 18 months.

According to several analysts, the total investment over the next ten years could be as high as $100 billion.

On Tuesday, President Trump announced that Venezuela would “deliver” 30 to 50 million barrels of oil.