Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) booked lower core earnings for the second quarter compared to a year earlier amid lower oil prices, kicking off the earnings season of the international majors, all of which have warned of declining profits.
Equinor reported on Wednesday an adjusted operating income, its closest metric of core earnings, of $6.53 billion for the second quarter, down by 13% compared to the same period of 2024.
Still, the figure is perfectly in line with expectations in an Equinor-provided consensus estimate of 21 analysts.
“The results are affected by lower liquids prices, which were partially offset by higher gas prices and higher production,” Equinor said.
The company’s average liquids price was $63 per barrel, down from $70.60 for the first quarter of 2025 and $77.60 for the second quarter last year.
Equinor delivered a total equity production of 2.096 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the second quarter, up by 2% from the same quarter last year and above the 2.064 million boepd in the analyst consensus estimate.
“We are on track to deliver production growth in 2025 in line with our guidance,” CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement.
“Strong operational performance and Johan Castberg reaching plateau are key contributors this quarter. In today’s volatile markets we stay committed to being a long-term energy provider to Europe.”
In the U.S., Equinor saw a 50% jump in natural gas production after boosting its onshore gas asset presence, Opedal said, noting that in offshore wind it is back to constructing the Empire Wind 1 project offshore New York, after the U.S. Administration reversed a stop order.
Equinor booked $955 million in impairments related to Empire Wind.
The Norwegian energy major is confident its strategy to grow oil and gas production will continue to yield value to shareholders and confirmed its ordinary cash dividend of $0.37 per share for the second quarter, as well as a third tranche of a share buy-back program of up to $1.265 billion. Equinor also affirmed plans for total capital distribution of $9 billion to shareholders in 2025, including $5 billion of share repurchases.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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