Equinor Pays Almost $9 Billion In 2021 Taxes

In 2021 Equinor paid $8.9 billion in corporate tax to authorities. Through the tax contribution report, Equinor seeks to increase transparency on tax payments and principles.

This year, the Equinor group paid $8.9 billion in corporate income taxes and $2.9 billion in royalty payments and fees to local and national governments including host entitlement. Of the total amount, $8.3 billion was paid to authorities in Norway where Equinor has the largest share of its operations and earnings.

“Equinor is dedicated to contributing to progress for societies, and paying the right tax where value is created is an important part of this commitment. We delivered strong earnings for 2021 and are hence able to contribute to society with larger tax payments,” says CFO Torgrim Reitan.

Equinor said that it delivered excellent operational performance and increased production in the previous year. Combined with higher prices for both gas and liquids, this resulted in stronger earnings. Tax payments for 2021 were considerably higher than for 2020, a year impacted by the global pandemic leading to relatively low commodity prices.

For 2021, Equinor paid close to $1 billion in environmental taxes and fees, including CO2 quotas. Taxes on emissions have increased over the years and are incentivizing emissions reductions.

“Carbon pricing is a key enabler of the energy transition. A price on carbon encourages emitters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The early adoption of CO2 taxes in Norway has incentivized Equinor to keep reducing emissions from our oil and gas operations,” Reitan added.

The tax contribution report complements other publications and disclosures such as Equinor’s Annual Report including Payments to Governments Report and Sustainability Report.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com