Equinor and Rosneft in carbon management tie-up

Norway’s and Russia’s oil and gas giants, Equinor and Rosneft, have signed an agreement on collaboration in carbon management, including potential collaboration on the use of renewables, CCUS, and low-carbon hydrogen solutions.

As explained by Equinor on Wednesday, the agreement builds on the two companies’ strategic partnership in Russia where the Norwegian company has been present for over 30 years. Drawing on this longstanding cooperation and aiming to support the goals of the Paris Agreement, Equinor and Rosneft will join forces to develop low carbon solutions and reduce the carbon footprint from joint projects.

Equinor and Rosneft have been partners in Russia since 2012 when they entered into strategic cooperation, which was the basis for Equinor’s operations in Russia going forward.

Al Cook, executive vice president for Exploration and Production International at Equinor, said: “Equinor aims to proactively support emissions reductions wherever we invest based on our decades of experience from Norway. We are happy to work together with Rosneft and share best practice to address climate change”.

Under the agreement, the companies will share experience and explore opportunities within such areas as the reduction in flaring and methane emissions, energy efficiency, and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions.

Equinor and Rosneft will also evaluate potential cooperation envisaging opportunities for the use of renewables, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and low-carbon hydrogen solutions.

The agreement aims to identify low carbon solutions in the companies’ joint upstream projects in Russia, as well as engage in joint activities in the area of sustainability based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and recognized environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks.