Equinor sold around 30% of its US Gas on the spot market during January's price spike
Equinor, a Norwegian company, sold 30% of its U.S. natural gas assets in January on a'spot basis,' capitalizing on a chilly snap which boosted demand and prices.
A January Arctic blast sent U.S. heat demand skyrocketing and frozen oil and gas wells. This cut gas production to a 2-year low, pushing prices at some Northeast gas hubs to record levels.
Equinor has stakes in onshore gas production on the U.S. east coast, and the Marcellus position is its largest natural gas asset.
Equinor's CFO Torgrim Reitan said that while the?field was operated by the partner, Equinor took delivery of its gas share and marketed and transported it itself.
He said that the trading business leaves certain volumes vulnerable to volatility when they are sold on the spot market.
This was also true in January. Reitan stated that we held 30% of our exposure in cash or spot prices.
He said that when Equinor sold gas to the New York area, it received prices "more than 100 per MMBtu" (million British thermal units).
Reitan? said that Equinor's marginal costs of U.S. produced were $1 per MMBtu.
The prices have fallen since then, with the Henry Hub contract for the month ahead trading at $3.33/MMBtu in February '04 after reaching a peak of $7.46/MMBtu in January '28.
Equinor expects its U.S. gas production to increase by 27% in 2025 to 809 millions barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Equinor's earnings report stated that the increase was due primarily to an increased Appalachia production following the acquisitions of additional interests late in 2024, and increased operational activities throughout 2025. Nora Buli is the reporter. (Editing by Terje Sosvik and Mark Potter.)
(source: Reuters)
