Iran war lifts Asia-Pacific interest for Norwegian petroleum products, LNG, Equinor says

OSLO: Equinor has seen a surge in interest for energy exports out of Norway from customers as far afield as Australia after the Iran war curbed exports of petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf, the energy group said on Wednesday.

The conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for energy exports from producers in the Gulf, especially affecting clients in Asia.

The closure has resulted in the loss of 12 million barrels of oil per day and has also hit the supply of refined products such as diesel and jet fuels, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal told reporters after presenting the company’s first-quarter earnings.

Europe’s biggest producer of oil and gas reported its highest quarterly earnings in three years, lifted by high output and rising petroleum prices caused by the war.

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Equinor operates the Mongstad refinery on Norway’s west coast and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Arctic Hammerfest, typically serving customers in Europe.

“But we see that there is demand from customers in Asia who contact us once a year to maintain their customer relationship. They call twice a week now,” Opedal later told Reuters.

Recently, Equinor shipped a cargo of gasoline from Mongstad to Australia, something that had not happened in years, Opedal said.

For LNG, there has been increased interest from fertilizer producers in India, the CEO said.

LSEG shipping data showed that the Arctic Lady LNG tanker loaded up at Hammerfest on April 7 and is set to discharge its cargo at the Dahej port on India’s west coast on May 12.

Equinor said the deliveries remained profitable despite a rise in shipping costs.

“We have a shipping department, and they are very, very smart, making sure that we optimise our shipping fleet,” Opedal said.