Statkraft CEO: Statkraft will sell assets in 3 countries
Statkraft's CEO announced on Wednesday that the Norwegian utility, Europe's biggest renewable energy producer and Statkraft's state-owned subsidiary, would sell assets in India as well as Croatia and The Netherlands, to concentrate the group's investment on fewer markets. Statkraft announced its strategy in June and cut its growth goals for solar, battery storage, and onshore wind, as well as their offshore wind and hydrogen ambitions. Statkraft CEO Birgitte ringstad Vartdal said that the company would divest of its onshore solar, battery and wind business in Croatia and The Netherlands but keep its Dutch trading operation.
SLB Launches Cement-free System to Cut CO2 Footprint of Well Construction
Oilfield services giant SLB, until recently known as Schlumberger, on Monday introduced the EcoShield geopolymer cement-free system that it says minimizes the CO2 footprint of a well’s construction." This innovative technology eliminates up to 85 percent of embodied CO2 emissions compared with conventional well cementing systems, which include portland cement. The EcoShield system has the potential to avoid up to 5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually—the equivalent of removing 1.1 million cars from the road each year," SLB said.“Decarbonizing the well construction process while ensuring safety and performance standards is critical to our industry’s pathway to net zero…
CPIH, Equinor Team Up on Offshore Wind
Chinese power giant China Power International Holding (CPIH) and Norwegian energy firm Equinor have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on offshore wind projects off China and Europe.“China is rapidly increasing its use of renewables and natural gas. The country is set to become the world’s biggest offshore wind market by 2030. As an offshore wind major, Equinor is excited to collaborate with CPIH to develop offshore wind” says executive vice president New Energy Solutions, Pål Eitrheim.“CPIH, as a leading power generator in China, has been striving to develop its international strategy to become a pioneer of reliable energy provider worldwide.
ERE Opens 104MW Windfarm in Serbia
Israel-based renewable energy projects developer Enlight Renewable Energy (ERE) along with its Serbian partner New Energy Solutions has officially opened its Kovacica windfarm in Serbia.The opening ceremony of the Wind farm was held in the municipality of Kovacica in the presence of the Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic, Alona Fisher-Kamm the Ambassador of Israel, the Representatives of the owners, ERE, and its Serbian partner, New Energy Solutions.Kovacica clean power plant operates with 38 installed wind turbines, with the total power of 104…
Equinor,YPF Pact on Argentina Wind Power
Norwegian multinational energy company Equinor ASA and Argentine power producer YPF Luz have joined for the development of the Cañadón León wind farm in Santa Cruz in Argentina.As per agreement, a subsidiary of Equinor will subscribe to shares in Luz del León. The shareholders of YPF Luz are YPF S.A and an affiliate of General Electric.The agreement establishes that Equinor will have a 50% stake of Luz del León, with an equity contribution of USD 30 million. After the subscription and capital integration, YPF Luz and Equinor will jointly control Luz del León…
Danska Commodities Inks PPA with Hywind Scotland
Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the world’s first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland.Hywind Scotland, the world's first commercial-scale floating wind farm, was officially opened in October 2017. Norwegian oil and gas group Equinor owns 75%, while its partner the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, better known as Masdar, holds 25%. As the sole offtaker, Danske Commodities will take over balancing and trading of Hywind Scotland’s total volume of 30 MW. The wind farm, which is located 30 km off the coast of Scotland…
World's First Floating Wind Turbine Gets New Life
The world's first industrial-scale floating wind prototype, Hywind 1, installed in 2009 off the west coast of Norway, will be reborn as an infrastructure for research and technology projects in Metcentre at Karmøy.Unitech Offshore, which manufactures and distributes subsea connector assemblies, said that it has entered into an agreement with Equinor for the company to take over the Hywind demonstration floating wind turbine.The turbine will be renamed as “Unitech Zefyros by Hywind Technology” and used as an infrastructure for research projects, development of new technology…
Equinor Expands In Polish Offshore Wind
Norway's Equinor has expanded it presence in the Polish offshore wind market after exercising an option to acquire a 50 percent interest in the Bałtyk I offshore wind development project in the Baltic Sea from domestic firm Polenergia.The transaction is a follow-up of the agreement between the two companies which came into force in May 2018, by which Equinor acquired a 50 percent interest in Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III."We are very pleased to further deepen our presence in Poland and to work with Polenergia, which is an experienced energy company with an in-depth knowledge of the Polish energy market.
Equinor Bets on Offshore Wind
Norway's Equinor is focusing its green efforts on offshore wind, a goal it is already on its way to achieve, but some investors are concerned about the impact this shift will have on the company's bottom line.European oil and gas companies are diversifying their portfolio to include less-emitting sources of energy as a result of the Paris 2015 agreement, which outlines a shift from fossil fuels this century.Equinor, formerly Statoil, is betting on offshore wind, leveraging its expertise in operating offshore platforms and its ability to scale up small projects into industrial ones.Last year Equinor opened the first floating offshore wind farm, off Scotland.
Equinor Acquires Energy Trader Danske Commodities
Norwegian oil and gas major Equinor, formerly Statoil, is acquiring the Danish energy trading company, Danske Commodities for EUR 400 million (USD 470 mln). "Equinor has reached agreement to buy 100% of the shares in Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities (DC) for EUR 400 million, with smaller contingent payments depending on DC’s performance over the next couple of years," said a press release from the company. This acquisition – of one of Europe’s largest short-term electricity traders – supports Equinor’s development towards becoming a broad energy company. DC is also active in short-term gas trading and provides energy market services.
Equinor Acquires Danske Commodities
Equinor has reached agreement to buy 100% of the shares in Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities (DC) for EUR 400 million, with smaller contingent payments depending on DC’s performance over the next couple of years. This acquisition – of one of Europe’s largest short-term electricity traders – supports Equinor’s development towards becoming a broad energy company. DC is also active in short-term gas trading and provides energy market services. DC was founded in 2004 and is based in Aarhus, Denmark, with 284 employees. In 2017 it traded 318 terawatt hours of electricity across 37 countries…
Statoil to Become Equinor, Dropping 'Oil'
Shareholders in Norway's largest company, Statoil, will approve on Tuesday the board's proposal to drop "oil" from its name as its seeks to diversify its business and attract young talent concerned about fossil fuels' impact on climate change.From Wednesday, the majority state-owned company will change its 46-year-old name to Equinor and trade on the Oslo Exchange under the new ticker EQNR.The Norwegian government, which has a 67 percent stake in the firm, has said it will back the move.The oil and gas company said the name change was a natural step after it decided last year to become a "broad energy" firm…
Statoil Eyes Britain's 2019 Renewable Subsidy Auction for Dogger Bank
Statoil is working with its partner SSE to develop the Dogger Bank offshore wind project so it can take part in Britain's renewable energy subsidy auction in 2019, the company said on Friday.The planned 4.8 gigawatt (GW) Dogger Bank project, which has approval from the British authorities, is set to become the world's largest offshore wind park and could deliver more than five percent of Britain's electricity needs, Statoil Executive Vice President Irene Rummelhoff said in London.Britain has replaced direct subsidies with a contracts-for-difference (CfD) system.
Statoil's 2017 Renewables Spending in Line with Plans
Norway's Statoil said on Friday its 2017 capital spending on new energy solutions, which include renewables, was between $500 million and $750 million, in line with its plans. Statoil began preparations for the construction of an offshore wind park off New York, but it will not start until 2023 at the earliest. At the end of 2017, Statoil had a net 290 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind capacity, and around 190 MW under development. Statoil said its CO2 emissions from oil and gas production were reduced by 10 percent per barrel in 2017. Statoil said…
Statoil to Rebrand as Equinor
Rebranding would cost up to $32.5 mln but firm plans to ramp up renewables investment. Norway's Statoil plans to change its name to Equinor, reflecting its commitment to become a broad energy company rather than one focused only on oil, it said on Thursday. In a video posted on social media, Statoil presented the switch as a way to show its determination to develop investments in renewable energy. Reactions by various social media users were mixed. "Equinor sounds like a princess on a horse in Game of Thrones," one Twitter user said. "Equi" is the genitive singular in Latin for "horse". Others liked the change. "Congratulations on an exciting name change.
Statoil Enters Offshore Poland Wind Markets
Statoil has signed an agreement with Polenergia to acquire a 50 % interest in the two early phase offshore wind development projects in Poland, Bałtyk Środkowy III (BSIII) and Bałtyk Środkowy II (BSII). The two projects have a planned capacity of 1200 MW with the potential to power more than 2 million Polish households. Statoil is also entering into a 50/50 joint venture with Polenergia to further mature these projects with Statoil being the Manager for the development, construction and operational phases. "We are very pleased to have entered into a partnership with Polenergia…
World’s First Floating Wind Farm Starts Production
The world's first offshore floating wind farm has started to deliver electricity to the Scottish grid, providing power to approximately 20,000 households. The 30MW Hywind Scotland wind farm, operated by Statoil in partnership with Masdar 25 kilometers offshore Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, was officially opened today by First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon. “This marks an exciting development for renewable energy in Scotland,” First Minister Sturgeon said. “The learnings from Hywind Scotland will pave the way for new global market opportunities for floating offshore wind energy. Through their government's support to develop the Hywind Scotland project, the U.K.
Final Turbine Installed at Dudgeon Wind Farm
This week saw the last of the 67 wind turbines being installed on the Dudgeon field and all of them are now producing electricity. During October, the wind farm will provide 410,000 homes in England with electricity. Thirty-two kilometers off the coast of Norfolk in England the wind farm has grown gradually since the first turbine was installed at the beginning of the year. The wind farm was completed at the agreed time and below the budget of GBP 1.5 billion that was set when the investment decision was made in 2014. Ever since the first households received electricity already at the beginning of February, all the turbines have joined the production, one by one.
Dogger Bank Ownership Structure Announced
The ownership arrangements for the four consented Dogger Bank offshore wind projects have been agreed and signed by the three Forewind shareholders, innogy, SSE and Statoil. Offshore wind consortium Forewind was awarded consents for 4.8 gigawatt (GW) of offshore wind development at Dogger Bank in the North Sea in 2015. The consents comprised four individual 1.2GW projects. SSE and Statoil together will each own 50 percent of the three projects: Dogger Bank Creyke Beck A, Dogger Bank Creyke Beck B and Dogger Bank Teesside A. The remaining project, Dogger Bank Teesside B will be owned 100 percent by innogy.
Statoil Eyes Japan, US for Floating Wind Projects
Norwegian oil company Statoil is targeting Japan and the U.S. states of California and Hawaii to expand its floating offshore wind turbine business, the head of its New Energy Solutions business told Reuters. Statoil will later this year open the world's first floating wind turbine park off the coast of Scotland, a technology that allows wind energy to be harnessed further out at sea where wind speeds are typically higher. Statoil's floating wind turbines are anchored in place, unlike other offshore turbines which need to be tethered to a permanent foundation on the seabed that is more expensive to build in deep areas.
