Equinor CEO: EU unlikely to increase Russian Gas Imports

Anders Opedal CEO of Norway's Equinor said on Tuesday that the European Union is unlikely to increase Russian gas imports in order to offset Middle East supply disruption as long as Russia's 'war' with Ukraine continues.

In an interview given at the CERAWeek conference in Houston by Opedal, the EU partnership with Ukraine was cited as a reason for the difficulty of bringing Russian gas to the region.

Since the Russian invasion, the bloc has been Kyiv’s most staunch ally. It supports Ukraine’s efforts to maintain control over its territory.

According to EU data the share of Russian gas imported by the EU dropped from 45% in 2022 before the full-scale invasion?of Ukraine to 12% in 2020 as sanctions, contract restrictions?and emergency diversification were implemented. U.S. natural gas liquefied and an increased supply of Norwegian gas have made up for the majority of the shortfall.

Opedal stated that Europe has a?more diverse range of supply sources now than in 2022.

Opedal stated that "everything we've been able to produce has moved to Europe, 90% of the oil and all the gas have gone to Europe." "It is even more crucial that we continue this journey after the Middle East war."

The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, and Tehran's attacks against Gulf neighbors has brought about another global energy crisis. This is due to the destruction of energy facilities as well as a halt in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz?which handles around 20% of global LNG and oil flows. Equinor expects a 3% increase in production this year, thanks to increased international output. It produced a record-breaking amount of oil and LNG in 2025.

Opedal stated that Equinor had participated in eight discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf this year compared to 14 last year. He said that the North Sea Rosebank Oil Project, which has been a lightning rod among climate activists in Britain is "moving forward".

Opedal stated that he hopes to have the Bay du Nord offshore oil project approved in Canada next year, and for production to begin by 2032. Opedal stated that Bay du Nord was a C$14 Billion ($10.18 'billion) investment, with a production capacity of 160.000?barrels?per day.

Opedal stated that there was a?significant oil and gas untapped potential' in areas where resources had already been discovered. These include the Norwegian continental shelf and United Kingdom. (1 Canadian dollar = 1.3750 Canadian Dollars) (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman and Ron Bousso)

(source: Reuters)