Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) posted its third-quarter trading update on Wednesday, coming in roughly 5% below consensus estimates for adjusted operating income after tax, which had been forecast at $1.8 billion.
In its Exploration & Production (E&P) Norway division, the company reported realized liquids prices between $67.2 and $69.2 per barrel, up from $65.4 in the previous quarter and ahead of the $66.1 consensus forecast. Gas prices, however, declined to $9.98 per million BTU, down from $10.6 in Q2, though still slightly above the market estimate of $9.9.
Production data for Norway from August to date showed a 6.7% quarter-over-quarter increase in liquids and a 1.6% rise in gas, closely aligned with expectations of 6.8% and –1.0%, respectively. Equinor noted that the Hammerfest LNG turnaround began on April 24, while the Snøhvit field resumed operations on August 3.
In the E&P International segment, realized liquids prices ranged between $59 and $63 per barrel, compared with $60.1 in Q2. Production is expected to fall slightly quarter-over-quarter to 241,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, versus 245,000 in the prior period. The company confirmed that its Peregrino assets in Brazil and UK operations are now classified as “held for sale”, with no depreciation, compared to $310 million in depreciation in Q2.
For E&P USA, realized liquids prices averaged $55–57 per barrel, broadly in line with $56.3 in Q2. Offshore production rose quarter-over-quarter, led by the Caesar Tonga field, while onshore volumes edged slightly higher at 366,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, just below Q2’s 374,000. The company also reported a one-time decommissioning expense of roughly $270 million for a Gulf of Mexico asset.
The Marketing, Midstream and Processing (MMP) segment is expected to deliver adjusted earnings between $400 million and $800 million, up from $333 million in Q2 but still below the consensus forecast of $452 million. Equinor cited weaker crude trading results due to losses on hedging shipping contracts, reduced speculative trading, and negative effects from the Hammerfest LNG outage.
On the cash flow side, the company reported NCS tax payments of NOK 35.2 billion during the quarter, made in two installments. For the fourth quarter, payments are expected to be split into three tranches totaling NOK 19.97 billion. Equinor also redeemed $0.7 billion in bonds and participated in Ørsted’s rights issue, contributing $0.9 billion.
Equinor plans to release its full third-quarter financial results on October 29, according to analysts at Jefferies.
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