Equinor boosts profits, steps up development of new Arctic field
The company, which is partly owned by the Norwegian state, reported an adjusted operating profit of $12.35 billion in the third quarter of 2026. The major earnings come as the company is in the process of developing Wisting, the world’s northernmost oil field.
The earnings are twice as high as in the same period in 2025, and represent the company’s best result since late 2022.
The profits follow a major price hike on the international oil and gas markets, stirred by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. For the company, which is 67% owned by the Norwegian state, the conflicts are good business.
Part of the earnings is likely to be spent on the development of Wisting, the oil field located at 73.3° North in the Barents Sea.
Equinor submitted a proposed environmental impact assessment programme for public consultation in June this year. In October, it awarded the company Aibel a contract for a front-end engineering and design study for the topsides of a project production vessel.
Wisting will be the world’s northernmost oil field. It is located about 300 km north of the Norwegian mainland and about 50 km south of what is considered the Arctic sea ice edge.
The development of the project comes despite warnings from the EU. In its revised Arctic strategy published earlier this month, the Union emphasises that Arctic hydrocarbons should stay in the ground.
Environmental organisations have strongly warned against the Wisting project. A spill could seriously harm marine life, they argue.
In 2022, Equinor announced that it would postpone the project’s investment decision. Now, the company is once again pushing for project development.
Frøya Skjold Sjursæther from the Norwegian Green Party welcomes the EU’s stance on Arctic oil and warns against Equinor’s plans.
"The government has long claimed that Europe needs oil from the Arctic. Now the EU is saying a clear ‘no’ to the oil lobby’s dream of oil and gas in our most vulnerable Arctic environment. This should be an eye-opener for us all, showing that the oil age is drawing to a close. In this autumn’s budget negotiations, MDG will demand a halt to all oil exploration in the Barents Sea, and that Equinor’s outrageous plans for the world’s northernmost oil bonanza, Wisting, be scrapped!" she wrote on her Facebook page.
