Manager
Equinor is caught up in the energy crisis, but won’t pay to de-risk the electricity supply in Norway – from which they implicitly claim exemption. It’s tempting to ask the company to step up.
Unfathomable: Equinor is making huge sums of money, much to the delight of the exchequer. Nevertheless, it is understandable that the company does not want to keep the gas power plant operating in Mongstad, thereby reducing the risk of power supply in Norway this winter. Photo: Jeff Gilbert/Shutterstock/NTB
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Manager: It is Dagbladet’s editorial and expresses the newspaper’s vision. Dagbladet’s political editor is responsible for the editorial.
of Norway The Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE) has announced the risk of electricity rationing in winter. Political Norway, and we might add large parts of political Europe, are in full swing due to the energy crisis and high costs for consumers and businesses.
One of the companies Don’t worry too much about Equinor now. Fossil producers have fantastic returns because of the same energy crisis. Equinor makes huge sums, much to the delight of the Norwegian treasury. So far this year, Equinor has already crushed better figures than last year. Within six months, the company earned $37 billion before tax, 360 billion kroner, four times as much as in the first half of last year.
In this context There is one thing that is still unclear: the company is having a strange argument about maintaining operations at the gas-fired power plant in Mönchengladbach. It has been decided to close the power plant, it is not profitable and Equinor believes that it is not the company’s job to provide backup for energy in Norway.
Equinor has it Basically right. We are now in absolutely extraordinary times. Statnett has twice – most recently this week – asked Equinor to keep the gas-fired plant running, thereby postponing a planned shutdown at the end of August.
It is Statnet’s assessment that this closure may weaken security of supply in western Norway. This increases the ration risk.
In the same quarterly presentation Where Equinor provided registration figures, the company insisted the decision to close Mongstad was firm.
They said one more thing.
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal warned that power cuts this winter could have major consequences for gas exports to Europe. Many gas fields are electrified by electricity from shore, and a power outage can affect operations.
Optal quickly added that it was uncertain whether rations would be given, and if so, it would be up to the authorities to decide who and how much to ration.
It is difficult This should be read as something other than an exceptional application. The government intervened with the Mandatory Wage Board after a one-day strike by the shelves this summer. Justification is a novelty: Conservancy policy implications. Europe is crying out for Norwegian gas after Russia began blocking Norwegian gas supplies.
There is good reason to believe that Opedal would be a hot candidate to escape the electricity rate if Equinor is suitable.
There is a company There are usually good reasons and understandable motives for what is called externalizing costs—that is, avoiding bills for what the company owes.
However, at times, there may be reason to give it some thought.
Equinor gets the extraordinary returns the energy crisis gives them, but doesn’t take the cost of one of the downsides. Above all, they want to be exempt from power rationing – the worst outcome they can fix themselves by keeping Mongstad running.
It’s almost too tempting to ask the company to step up.
Together, this creates a cynical and very unsympathetic image of the company. It’s never too late to come up with great ideas.
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