Our history

Equinor, formerly Statoil, was formed by a decision of the Norwegian parliament and incorporated as a limited liability company under the name Den norske stats oljeselskap AS. At the time owned 100% by the Norwegian State, Equinor's initial role was to be the government's commercial instrument in the development of the oil and gas industry in Norway. Growing in parallel with the Norwegian oil and gas industry, Equinor’s operations were primarily focused on exploration, development and production of oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The Statfjord field was discovered in the North Sea and commenced production. In 1981 Equinor, then called Statoil, was the first Norwegian company to be given operatorship of a field, at Gullfaks in the North Sea.

Equinor grew substantially through the development of the NCS (Statfjord, Gullfaks, Oseberg, Troll and others). In the 1990s, Equinor started to grow internationally, becoming a major player in the European gas market by entering into large sales contracts for the development and operation of gas transport systems and terminals. During these decades, Equinor was also involved in manufacturing and marketing in Scandinavia and established a comprehensive network of service stations. This line of business was fully divested in 2012.

Equinor was listed on the Oslo and New York stock exchanges and became a public limited company under the name Statoil ASA, now Equinor ASA, with a 67% majority stake owned by the Norwegian State.

Equinor’s ability to fully realise the potential of the NCS and grow internationally was strengthened through the merger with Norsk Hydro's oil and gas division on 1 October 2007. Equinor’s business grew as a result of substantial investments on the NCS and internationally. Equinor delivered the world’s longest multiphase pipelines on the Ormen Lange and Snøhvit gas fields, and the giant Ormen Lange development project was completed in 2007. By 2007, Equinor had expanded into Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Nigeria, UK, and the US Gulf of Mexico, amongst others.

Statoil ASA changed its name to Equinor ASA, following approval of the name change by the company’s annual general meeting on 15 May 2018. The name supports the company’s strategy and development as a broad energy company in addition to reflecting Equinor’s evolution and identity as a company for the generations to come. The Johan Sverdrup field came on stream in October 2019. It is powered by electricity from shore, making it one of the most carbon-efficient fields worldwide.

Equinor sets an ambition to be a leading company in the energy transition and to become a net-zero company by 2050, including emissions from production to final energy consumption. Equinor announced changes to the reporting segments, corporate structure and the corporate executive committee (CEC) to further strengthen its ability to deliver on the always safe, high value, low-carbon strategy. The changes will support improved value creation from Equinor’s world-class oil and gas portfolio, accelerated profitable growth within renewables and the development of low-carbon solutions. In January 2021, civil works began at the Northern Lights development for carbon transport and storage. In June 2021, the final investment decision was made for the first phase of the development of the Bacalhau field. The Martin Linge field was brought on stream in June 2021, driven by electric power from shore. The third phase of the Troll field development came on stream in August 2021, producing from the Troll West gas cap. The electrification of Troll West is underway. In November 2021, the decision was made to develop the third phase of the Dogger Bank offshore windfarm. To meet growing demand, Equinor scaled up gas production from the NCS in 2021.