Equinor Plans to Expand LNG Supply Scale to 10-15 Million Tons per Year
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, Equinor (the Norwegian state energy company) stated that it plans to expand its global liquefied natural gas supply portfolio to 10-15 million tons per year by the early 2030s, further increasing LNG supply to European and Asian markets. The company expects that by 2030, as its long-term U.S. procurement contracts fully ramp up, its LNG supply scale will first increase to approximately 7 million tons per year, roughly doubling from the current level.
Ingvar Egeland, Vice President of LNG at Equinor, said that the company is evaluating projects on the U.S. East Coast, the Canadian West Coast, South America, and Africa as sources of additional supply in the next phase. The company also plans to increase LNG volumes priced on a Brent crude oil-linked mechanism to expand the pricing structure of its existing procurement portfolio. The Tanzania LNG project has not yet been included in the 10-15 million tons per year supply target, as the project remains subject to the progress of government negotiations.
About half of the company's existing LNG supply comes from Hammerfest LNG in Norway, with the remainder of its supply portfolio being expanded primarily through long-term U.S. contracts. Hammerfest LNG is located on the island of Melkøya in northern Norway and processes natural gas from the Snøhvit, Albatross, and Askeladd gas fields in the Barents Sea. Under normal production conditions, it has an annual LNG production capacity of approximately 4.65 million tons and can process approximately 6.5 billion standard cubic meters of natural gas. Natural gas produced from the offshore fields is transported to the onshore liquefaction facility via a 143-kilometer subsea pipeline.
U.S. supply is the main component of the company's LNG growth before 2030. Equinor has signed a long-term procurement agreement with Cheniere, whose U.S. Gulf Coast facilities will ultimately supply the company with approximately 3.5 million tons of LNG per year. The first cargo under the long-term contract was loaded in August 2026 from the Sabine Pass export facility in Louisiana, destined for Europe; subsequent cargoes can be allocated between European and Asian markets according to demand. With the full execution of the above contracts, the company expects its global LNG supply portfolio to reach approximately 7 million tons per year in 2030.
Long-term sales contracts in Asia have also entered the execution phase. The 15-year LNG supply agreement signed between Equinor and India's Deepak Fertilisers began deliveries in 2026, with a contract volume of approximately 650,000 tons per year, mainly supplying its fertilizer and petrochemical production. The company stated on September 16 that it expects to announce another LNG supply agreement for Asian customers this week, currently focusing on engaging with state-owned energy enterprises and fertilizer producers in the Indian and Southeast Asian markets.
On the Norwegian domestic supply side, Hammerfest LNG is simultaneously advancing the Snøhvit Future project. The project includes onshore natural gas compression and facility electrification, with onshore compression planned to be operational from 2029 and electrification planned for implementation in 2030, to maintain natural gas transportation capacity and LNG facility production after gas field pressure declines. The previously commissioned Askeladd Vest is connected to the existing subsea production system through two production wells, to maintain full-load production at Hammerfest LNG before the Snøhvit Future compression facility is put into operation.
