General – Carbon Capture and Storage
Equinor, long regarded as one of the global standard-bearers for carbon capture and storage, is scaling back its near-term investment plans for CCS as project economics and customer demand fail to mature at the pace once expected.
The Norwegian energy major has played a defining role in CCS development for decades, but despite its technical leadership, Equinor now says the commercial conditions needed to justify further large-scale investment are not yet in place.
Speaking during the company’s latest earnings call, chief executive Anders Opedal acknowledged that CCS markets are progressing more slowly than anticipated.
As a result, Equinor will hold off on committing capital to new CCS projects until clearer demand signals and stronger returns emerge.
The company remains prepared to invest, but only when projects are supported by customers, stable policy frameworks, and commercially viable contracts.
A key challenge, according to Equinor, is the changing timeline of its industrial customers.
While regulatory frameworks for CO2 transport and storage have improved in recent years, the pace of permitting and capture project development has slowed.
Opedal noted that just a few years ago, customers purchasing natural gas were also actively exploring hydrogen supply and CO2 transport and storage services.
Today, many of those same customers continue to buy gas but have pushed major emissions reduction commitments further into the future.
