Equinor's headquarters in Oslo
Equinor streamlines its offshore strategy
Exploration is providing mixed fortunes for IOCs amid higher costs, prompting firms to look towards M&A and safer plays
Norway’s Equinor has seen mixed fortunes from its offshore exploration in recent months, exemplifying a trend among IOCs that has seen recent high-profile successes coming alongside failures and setbacks—serving as a reminder that offshore exploration is risky. Domestically, Equinor’s exploration efforts in 2024 include drilling a dry hole at Harden sor, the sixth well to be drilled in production licence (PL) 248C in the Norwegian North Sea. This was followed by the firm delineating the Heisenberg oil and gas discovery in wells 35/10-11 S and A and also proving the presence of oil in the Hummer prospect—the first and second wells drilled in PL 827 SB. “Equinor’s performance in Norway has gen
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
