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Equinor (EQNR) Wins Operatorship for Two CO2 Storage Licenses
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Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) has been awarded licenses by the Norway Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to operate two carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites in the North and Barents Seas.
The two licenses, known as Smeaheia and Polaris, are crucial components for developing the Norwegian Continental Shelf (“NCS”) as a major site for deploying carbon capture and storage (“CCS”).
In December 2021, the Norway government received applications from Equinor and other companies regarding two areas on the NCS to be allocated for CO2 storage.
Equinor submitted plans to develop Smeaheia to provide 20 million tons of CO2 storage capacity per year. This suggests a significant increase on a commercial basis on the NCS. Notably, the rapid growth in CO2 storage at Smeaheia is necessary to ensure storage requirements from low-carbon projects in Norway.
Then again, Polaris CCS is situated in the Barents Sea. It is a crucial component of the Barents Blue project, which Equinor is developing to produce blue ammonia from North Sea natural gas. The first phase of Polaris development involves capturing and storing about 2 million metric tons per year of CO2.
CO2 capture and storage enable the development of blue hydrogen and ammonia. With CCS, blue hydrogen and ammonia can remove emissions from natural gas use, granting access to large amounts of low-carbon energy. Emissions can also be significantly reduced from gas-fired power plants by using CCS.
Equinor aims to develop value chains for CO2 transport and storage, with an annual capacity of 15-30 million tons of CO2 by 2035. With the projects, the company intends to reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to 50% of Norway’s annual emissions.
Equinor intends to develop additional storage licenses in the North Sea in the coming years. It aims to build a common, pipeline-based infrastructure, which can significantly reduce costs for the CCS value chains.
Company Profile & Price Performance
Headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, Equinor is one of the leading integrated energy companies in the world.
Shares of EQNR have outperformed the industry in the past six months. The stock has gained 45.1% compared with the industry’s 28.8% growth.
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Centennial Resource’s earnings for 2022 are expected to increase 113% year over year. At the end of the fourth quarter, CDEV had a net debt to capitalization of 23.1%. The company’s debt-to-total capital ratio has persistently been lower than the industry since last year, reflecting lower debt exposure. This can provide it with financial flexibility for growth projects.
PetroChina Company Limited is China's largest integrated oil company. PetroChina is one of the largest producers of crude oil and natural gas in the world. PTR’s natural gas business offers lucrative growth prospects in the coming years as China moves from coal to natural gas.
PetroChina’s earnings for 2022 are expected to increase 30.3% year over year. At 2021-end, PTR’s cash balance was RMB 136,789 million and long-term debt amounted to RMB 287,175 million. PetroChina’s debt-to-capital ratio was 16.9%.
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Petrobras’ earnings for 2022 are expected to increase 55.5% year over year. Petrobras, burdened with a huge debt load, laid strong emphasis on its debt reduction in its recent five-year business management plan (2022-2026) to strengthen its credit rating. As the company focuses on regaining its financial footing by selling assets and curtailing debt load, it has successfully managed to lower gross debt below its 2022 target of $60 billion in the third quarter of 2021, ahead of time.
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Equinor (EQNR) Wins Operatorship for Two CO2 Storage Licenses
Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) has been awarded licenses by the Norway Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to operate two carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites in the North and Barents Seas.
The two licenses, known as Smeaheia and Polaris, are crucial components for developing the Norwegian Continental Shelf (“NCS”) as a major site for deploying carbon capture and storage (“CCS”).
In December 2021, the Norway government received applications from Equinor and other companies regarding two areas on the NCS to be allocated for CO2 storage.
Equinor submitted plans to develop Smeaheia to provide 20 million tons of CO2 storage capacity per year. This suggests a significant increase on a commercial basis on the NCS. Notably, the rapid growth in CO2 storage at Smeaheia is necessary to ensure storage requirements from low-carbon projects in Norway.
Then again, Polaris CCS is situated in the Barents Sea. It is a crucial component of the Barents Blue project, which Equinor is developing to produce blue ammonia from North Sea natural gas. The first phase of Polaris development involves capturing and storing about 2 million metric tons per year of CO2.
CO2 capture and storage enable the development of blue hydrogen and ammonia. With CCS, blue hydrogen and ammonia can remove emissions from natural gas use, granting access to large amounts of low-carbon energy. Emissions can also be significantly reduced from gas-fired power plants by using CCS.
Equinor aims to develop value chains for CO2 transport and storage, with an annual capacity of 15-30 million tons of CO2 by 2035. With the projects, the company intends to reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to 50% of Norway’s annual emissions.
Equinor intends to develop additional storage licenses in the North Sea in the coming years. It aims to build a common, pipeline-based infrastructure, which can significantly reduce costs for the CCS value chains.
Company Profile & Price Performance
Headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, Equinor is one of the leading integrated energy companies in the world.
Shares of EQNR have outperformed the industry in the past six months. The stock has gained 45.1% compared with the industry’s 28.8% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Equinor currently carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in the energy sector might look at the following companies that presently flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Centennial Resource Development, Inc. is an independent oil and gas exploration, and production company. As of Dec 31, 2021, CDEV’s total proved reserves of 305 million barrels of oil equivalent increased 2.1% year over year.
Centennial Resource’s earnings for 2022 are expected to increase 113% year over year. At the end of the fourth quarter, CDEV had a net debt to capitalization of 23.1%. The company’s debt-to-total capital ratio has persistently been lower than the industry since last year, reflecting lower debt exposure. This can provide it with financial flexibility for growth projects.
PetroChina Company Limited is China's largest integrated oil company. PetroChina is one of the largest producers of crude oil and natural gas in the world. PTR’s natural gas business offers lucrative growth prospects in the coming years as China moves from coal to natural gas.
PetroChina’s earnings for 2022 are expected to increase 30.3% year over year. At 2021-end, PTR’s cash balance was RMB 136,789 million and long-term debt amounted to RMB 287,175 million. PetroChina’s debt-to-capital ratio was 16.9%.
Petrobras (PBR - Free Report) is one of the largest publicly-traded Latin America-based oil companies, which dominates Brazil’s oil and gas sector. PBR produces most of Brazil’s crude oil and natural gas. It accounts for almost the entire refining capacity of the country.
Petrobras’ earnings for 2022 are expected to increase 55.5% year over year. Petrobras, burdened with a huge debt load, laid strong emphasis on its debt reduction in its recent five-year business management plan (2022-2026) to strengthen its credit rating. As the company focuses on regaining its financial footing by selling assets and curtailing debt load, it has successfully managed to lower gross debt below its 2022 target of $60 billion in the third quarter of 2021, ahead of time.