2023-08-08 10:54:26 ET
Norway's government said Tuesday it approved a plan to connect Equinor's ( NYSE: EQNR ) Hammerfest liquefied natural gas plant to the national power grid in a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan includes shutting down the Melkoya gas power plant, Norway's largest single source of carbon emissions, by 2030 and replacing it with power supply from the grid where renewable energy dominates.
The plant processes natural gas from the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea, producing ~6.5B cm/year of natural gas, or ~5% of Norway's total exports of the fuel.
Equinor ( EQNR ) has estimated the measure at Western Europe's largest LNG plant could save ~850K metric tons/year of carbon dioxide emissions, or 2% of Norway's total annual emissions.
The company submitted plans last year to build an onshore compressor, electric steam boilers, two transformer stations and the necessary grid connections to fully electrify the facility, at an estimated cost of 13.2B kroner (~$1.3B), sparking controversy over whether it will drive up local power prices.
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For further details see:
Equinor wins Norway government OK to electrify Hammerfest LNG plant