Equinor’s debt strategy
Equinor’s debt strategy is to support the overall financial flexibility of the group and ensure competitive terms and conditions on long-term debt.
Our debt and credit ratings
Equinor’s debt strategy is to support the overall financial flexibility of the group and ensure competitive terms and conditions on long-term debt.
Contacts for debt and credit ratings
Sverre Serck-Hanssen
Vice President and Head of Capital MarketsCFO Treasury & Tax
Sten Haarr
Lead Analyst Finance, Capital MarketsCFO Treasury & Tax
Rune Larsen Kleiberg
Manager Finance, Capital MarketsCFO Treasury & TaxAbout our external debts, loans and bond issuances
Normally the parent company, Equinor ASA, incurs the external debt and then extends loans or equity to wholly owned subsidiaries to fund capital requirements within the group.
Equinor Energy AS is co-obligor or guarantor of existing debt securities and other loan arrangements of Equinor ASA. As co-obligor, Equinor Energy AS assumes and agrees to perform, jointly and severally with Equinor ASA, all payments and covenant obligations for this debt.
Long-term funding is raised when we identify a need for such financing based on our business activities and cash-flows or to pre-fund when market conditions are considered favorable.
Equinor has been a regular bond issuer and Equinor’s current long-term ratings are AA- and Aa2 from S&P and Moody’s, respectively.
Bond issuances* 2011 - 2023 per currency
(Equivalent in USD) Updated 30 September 2023
Debt strategy
Equinor’s debt strategy is to support the overall financial flexibility of the company and ensure competitive terms and conditions on long-term debt.
The key elements:
- Bond issuances, as a main rule, are centralized at the corporate level. Project financing and other structured finance solutions are from time to time considered and applied at subsidiary level and for partially owned legal entities.
- Access to a well-diversified investor base (geographical, maturity and type)
- To limit the refinancing risk, Equinor will seek to maintain a smooth maturity profile with a high “Average Year To Maturity” (8.9 years as of 30 September 2023). Annual redemptions will normally not exceed 5% of capital employed.
- Bonds are normally issued at fixed rates in a variety of currencies but by issuing both fixed and floating interest rate debt, Equinor's funding sources become more diversified through reaching a broader spectrum of bond investors.
Debt programmes
Equinor has established the following debt programmes to ensure financial flexibility across markets and maturities.
Latest update | Valid to | Programme | Limit | Credit rating |
| Utilisation as of 30 September 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moody’s | S&P | |||||
| US Commercial Paper (USCP) | USD 5 billion | P-1 | A-1+ | USD 0.0 billion | ||
| 2023 | 2024 | Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) | EUR 20 billion | Aa2 | AA- | EUR 7.4 billion |
| 2023 | 2026 | US Shelf Registration | Unlimited | Aa2 | AA- | USD 15.9 billion |
| Separate Documentation | N/A | - | - | USD 0.3 billion |
The USCP programme is used for shorter maturities (up to 364 days), while the EMTN Programme and the US Shelf Registration are used for longer maturities.
The different funding programmes ensure that Equinor has sufficient flexibility when choosing the following:
- Maturity
- Currency
- Interest Rate (Fixed or Floating)
- Geographic Market (Europe, USA or Asia)
US Shelf Registration Statement
The registration statement is a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S and it permits multiple public debt offerings without having a separate prospectus for each offering. The registration statement is the base prospectus and will be updated with prospectus supplements for any subsequent debt offerings. The base prospectus is updated every third year.
The EMTN programme
The EMTN Programme was established in 1997 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Programme ensures Equinor access to non-US markets and is a good complement to the US Shelf Registration.
The EMTN Programme was last updated on 11 May 2023. The programme has a limit of EUR 20 billion.
Debt documentation
Equinor ASA and Energy
- Equinor ASA - Agency agreement 2023 (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Permanent global note 2023 (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Temporary global note 2023 (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS Annual Accounts 2022 (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Agency agreement 2022 (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS - Annual report 2021 (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Agency agreement (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Deed of covenant (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Permanent global note (PDF)
- Equinor ASA - Temporary global note (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS - Deed of guarantee (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS - Articles of association (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS - Annual report 2020 (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS - Annual report 2019 (PDF)
- Equinor Energy AS - Annual report 2018 (PDF)
- Form F-3 2017
- Statoil Petroleum AS - Annual report 2017 (PDF)
- Statoil Petroleum AS - Annual report 2016 (PDF)
- Statoil Petroleum AS - Annual report 2015 (PDF)
- Statoil Petroleum AS - Annual report 2014 (PDF)
- Statoil ASA registration document (PDF)
EMTN
- EMTN offering circular - May 2023 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - May 2022 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - May 2020 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - May 2019 (PDF)
- EMTN supplement - September 2018 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - April 2018 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - May 2017 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - October 2016 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - February 2016 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - February 2015 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - December 2013 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - August 2013 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - May 2012 (PDF)
- EMTN offering circular - June 2011 (PDF)
Our maturity profile (debt maturity)
The graph below shows the maturity profile of bonds outstanding as of 30 September 2023
Total remaining long-term bond debt: USD 24.2 billion
Average years to maturity = 8.9 years
Financial ratios, key debt ratios
Here, we present graphs on net debt to capital employed, cash flow provided by operating activities, and cash flows used in investing activities.
- Net debt to capital employed adjusted %
- Cash flow provided by operating activities
- Cash flows used in investing activities
All data sourced from our latest annual report.
Credit facility
Equinor has a multicurrency revolving credit facility of USD 6 billion, including USD 3 billion “swing line” (same day value) option. The facility was signed on 6 May 2021 and is available for 3 years. Equinor has the option to further extend the maturity twice by one additional year. The first and second option to extend has been utilized and the credit facility is now available until May 2026. The credit facility is used as a backstop facility for the group’s US CP programme.
There is a sustainability linked financing element included in the RCF loan agreement related to CO2 upstream intensity as published in the Sustainability Report.
Credit rating
A strong credit rating is important in order to ensure necessary financial flexibility to support a dynamic strategy through economic and market cycles.
Equinor has credit ratings from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s and the stated objective is to have credit ratings at least within the single A category on a stand-alone basis. (Current corporate rating includes one notch uplift from Standard & Poor’s and two notch uplift from Moody’s). This rating ensures necessary predictability when it comes to funding access to relevant capital markets at favorable terms and conditions.
Equinor's current credit ratings are as follows:
| MOODY'S | S&P Global Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term rating | Aa2 | AA- |
| Short-term rating | P-1 | A-1+ |
| Outlook | Stable | Stable |
Debt presentations
Here, Equinor posts the most current (last 12 months) debt investor presentations in PDF format.