OIL giant Equinor has said it is making progress in the UK despite opposition to its plans for the Rosebank development off Shetland as it posted multi-billion dollar profits.
The Norwegian group made $7.5 billion (£5.8bn) profit net of one-offs in the three months to June 30.
The profit was around 50 per cent lower than the $17.6bn Equinor achieved in the same period last year.
However, chief executive Anders Opedal said the Norwegian major delivered “solid” earnings during a quarter in which oil and gas prices fell below the “extraordinary” levels reached last year.
Prices surged to multi-year highs in 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They have fallen in recent months amid concerns about the outlook for the global economy but remain high by historic standards.
Equinor, which has operations around the world, is making enough money to fund huge payouts to investors.
“We continue with significant capital distribution and expect a total distribution of 17 billion dollars in 2023,” said Mr Opedal.
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Equinor made no mention of Rosebank in its second quarter results. However, the company noted that it bought Suncor’s North Sea business during the quarter. The $850m deal increased Equinor’s stake in Rosebank to 80 per cent and gave it an interest in the Buzzard field.
Equinor operates the giant Mariner oil field east of Shetland.
The company said yesterday: “Equinor keeps developing as a broad energy company, and in UK we see all the parts of our strategy developing.”
Equinor has a significant renewables business in the UK.
The company developed the Hywind Scotland floating windfarm off Scotland. It is working on the huge Dogger Bank windfarm project off eastern England with Scottish energy giant SSE. First power is expected within weeks noted Equinor.
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Friends of the Earth Scotland seized on the results to hammer home opposition to the prospect of Equinor winning support from the UK taxpayer to develop Rosebank. The campaigning group claims the use of the oil and gas held in Rosebank would generate huge amounts of emissions.
It reckons the £4bn Rosebank development could benefit from tax breaks worth around £3.75bn under the investment allowance introduced by the UK Government last year to encourage firms to develop North Sea resources.
The allowance offset the impact of the windfall tax the Government introduced after a series of North Sea firms recorded huge increases in profits on the back of rises in oil and gas prices.
Friends of the Earth Scotland said the Scottish Government must speak out against Rosebank and all other new fossil fuel projects.
The decision whether Rosebank can go ahead will be made by the North Sea Transition Authority. On its website the regulator says:“ Economic recovery of oil and gas need not be in conflict with the transition to net zero”.
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Energy minister Grant Shapps said at the weekend that the Government will “max out” the UK’s remaining reserves of North Sea oil and gas to reduce reliance on imports, which he told the FT can entail higher emissions and increased costs.
Following reports that a decision on Rosebank had been delayed by regulators until August at the earliest, a spokesman for Equinor told The Herald earlier this month that the company continued to mature the project according to plan.
The spokesperson added: “We definitely aim for everything to fall in place this year.”
Equinor reckons Rosebank would help secure the UK’s energy security by reducing reliance on imports. The field will use relatively low-emission production methods. The related investment could provide a big boost to the UK economy.
Equinor did not provide financial details of the performance of its UK business.
The company got an average $78.4 per barrel of oil in the second quarter, against $113.8/bbl last time.
It made a record $75bn profit in 2022.
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