Equinor signs five-year deal to supply gas to Germany

EQUINOR has struck a deal with Dutch-owned Eneco to supply natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf to the German grid.

Under the agreement, supplied through Eneco’s German subsidiary LichtBlick, Equinor will deliver around 2.2 TWh of gas – equivalent to about 0.2 billion cubic metres per year (bcm/y). The company said the gas is expected to have a greenhouse gas intensity around 9% lower than alternative supplies entering the grid.

The deal continues Equinor’s recent trend of long-term gas sales agreements across Europe, as energy prices remain volatile amid tensions in the Middle East.

Helle Ø Kristiansen, vice-president of gas and power at Equinor, said: “Norwegian gas plays an important role in supporting Europe’s energy security while also contributing to lower emissions compared with other gas sources.

“We are very pleased to strengthen our long‑standing partnership with Eneco through another agreement, supplying gas with a documented lower upstream emissions footprint than alternatives to support LichtBlick’s customers in Germany.”

In February, Equinor signed a similar five-year deal with the Netherlands to supply up to 0.5 bcm/y of gas.

Reducing methane intensity

Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas after CO2 but is more than 28 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere over a 100-year period, according to data from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Upstream oil and gas operations account for almost 85% of methane emissions from the sector, with gas transportation and other downstream activities making up the remaining 15%.

Equinor says it is working with governments and technology providers to reduce methane emissions from production.

The company aims to reduce methane intensity from its oil and gas operations to near zero by 2030. Measures include deploying monitoring tools for methane emissions, increasing the quality and transparency of reported data and testing drone technology to detect methane leaks from gas production facilities.

Under the German agreement, Eneco will buy Equinor’s “guarantees of origin” certification scheme intended to verify the lower greenhouse gas intensity of the supplied gas.

Equinor began supplying the gas in April and the agreement will run until the end of 2030.