Equinor's Gas Expansion Hits Two Speeds: New Field Online, Key Terminal Offline, as Oslo Talks Loom

Equinor balances a new North Sea gas field startup with an LNG plant outage, while lobbying European governments for long-term deals to sustain costly upstream projects amid declining legacy output.

Equinor is navigating a week of operational contrasts. A long-dormant North Sea gas field has just started flowing to Europe, while one of Norway's most important LNG export plants sits idle. Against that backdrop, the Norwegian energy major is stepping up diplomatic efforts to lock in long-term financial commitments from European governments for its costlier upstream developments.

The strategic push comes as Equinor's stock continues its blistering run. In Frankfurt, shares closed at €33.78 on Friday, a gain of 4.1% that lifts the year-to-date advance to nearly 62%. The momentum reflects both strong earnings and the market's appetite for a company squarely positioned as Europe's alternative to Russian gas.

Government talks test the business case

On 18 May, pipeline operator Gassco will host a meeting in Oslo attended by government representatives from Germany, the UK, Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands. Equinor wants to gauge whether customers are willing to sign longer-term offtake agreements that would justify investing in more expensive oil and gas projects. The calculus is straightforward: the North Sea's legacy production is declining, and the company estimates that new wells will account for roughly 70% of its output by 2035. Without price assurances, those barrels may never be developed.

The urgency is heightened by Europe's fragile gas storage situation. Inventories stand at only about 30% of capacity, six percentage points below the seasonal norm, and the target of 80% before next winter remains a stretch. Every additional molecule from Norwegian fields helps, but only if the supporting infrastructure holds up.

Eirin delivers, Hammerfest disappoints

Operationally, Equinor can point to a tangible success. The Eirin gas field, discovered in the late 1970s but long deemed uneconomic, has come on stream and is now exporting via the Gina Krog and Sleipner A platforms. The subsea development was completed on an accelerated timeline, with total investment of roughly 4.5 billion Norwegian kroner. Eirin is expected to produce around 27.6 million barrels of oil equivalent, predominantly gas.

Equinor operates the licence with a 58.7% stake, while Poland's ORLEN holds the remaining 41.3%. The gas flows through Denmark into Poland, reinforcing the broader political shift away from Russian supply. The field also extends the life of the Gina Krog platform to 2036.

Yet that bright spot is shadowed by the unplanned outage at Hammerfest LNG, Europe's largest liquefied natural gas export terminal. The facility's downtime underscores the fragility of Norway's export system and raises questions about reliability just as Equinor pushes for new commitments.

Earnings and shareholder returns

Financially, the company remains in robust shape. Adjusted operating profit for the first quarter of 2026 came in at $9.77 billion. Reported net profit reached $3.10 billion, while adjusted net profit after tax stood at $2.86 billion. Equinor targets a 3% increase in production for the full year, and equity production on the Norwegian continental shelf rose 10% year-on-year in Q1 to 1.53 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The board is returning cash to shareholders in two forms. A second tranche of the share buyback programme, worth $375 million, is under way and will run until no later than 20 July 2026. Meanwhile, US-traded shares began trading ex-dividend on 15 May. The regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.39 per share for the fourth quarter of 2025 was approved at the annual general meeting and is scheduled for payment on 27 May. Oslo-listed shareholders will receive the equivalent amount in Norwegian kroner later in the month.

Climate dissent lingers

The AGM also highlighted persistent environmental pressure. Seven shareholder proposals were voted on, and none passed. But a climate resolution tabled by activist group Follow This won 21% of independent votes, while a motion to halt exploration in the Barents Sea received 9%. The board retains a clear mandate, but the opposition is not fading. That tension is unlikely to ease as Equinor simultaneously rolls out more gas projects and faces scrutiny over its long-term emissions trajectory.

For now, management appears focused on the immediate needle: securing the demand-side guarantees needed to unlock the next generation of Norwegian developments. The outcome of the Oslo meeting later this month may set the tone for whether the oil major can square the circle of rising costs, aging infrastructure, and Europe's insatiable appetite for gas.