Norway’s Equinor exits Russia market amid invasion

Norway's energy company Equinor said on Monday it has decided to stop new investments into Russia, and will begin exiting Equinor's Russian joint ventures.

“In the current situation, we regard our position as untenable. We will now stop new investments into our Russian business, and we will start the process of exiting our joint ventures in a manner that is consistent with our values. Our top priority in this difficult situation is the safety and security of our people,”Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor  said in a statement. 

Equinor has been working within Russia for over 30 years and has a  cooperation agreement with Rosneft in 2012.

Equinor said it has operated in compliance with Norwegian, European Union and United States’ sanctions. 

By the end of 2021 Equinor had US $1.2 billion in non-current assets in Russia, the company said in a statement.

The company said they expect the decision will impact the book value of Equinor’s Russian assets and lead to impairments. The company’s petroleum production was at 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). It has 70 employees in Russia, according to its website.

"We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world, and we are thinking of all those who are suffering because of the military action," Opedal said.