Equinor boasts of environmental legacy

June 8 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Equinor, after removing “oil” from its moniker, said Friday it was putting its stewardship on display on offshore sustainability.

The company last month adopted the name Equinor, saying it was moving into the low-carbon economy and abandoning its former nameplate, Statoil. On World Oceans Day, the company said that apart from supplying the European economy with oil and gas, it had a balanced portfolio with offshore wind. That means ocean sustainability is a central component of its planning strategies.

“Caring for the oceans is part of our DNA,” Bjørn Otto Sverdrup, a senior vice president for corporate sustainability, said in a statement. “With our background from Norway, one of the world’s leading ocean economies, we recognize that the ocean is our greatest common resource.”

Three years ago, the company joined nine of the world’s largest oil and gas companies in pledging to play a constructive role in reducing the intensity of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Through the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, the companies said they’re committed to “significant actions” to cut greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. The 10 companies combined for about 10 percent of all global energy supplies and said they’ve reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by around 20 percent over the last 10 years.

Last year, the Norwegian energy company, one of the more robust producers in the world, said it reached its target of cutting 1.2 million tons worth of emissions of carbon dioxide from its portfolio three years ahead of schedule.

The company said it aims to cut emissions of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, by another 2 million tons by 2030.

In October, Equinor joined the Norwegian subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell and French supermajor Total in announcing plans to store carbon dioxide captured from industrial facilities in eastern Norway at an offshore site.

The International Energy Agency described carbon capture and storage as a necessary addition to other low-carbon energy technologies meant to drive down global greenhouse gas emissions. The process involves capturing carbon dioxide from sources like power plants and storing it in such a way that it won’t enter the atmosphere.