據(jù)OE網(wǎng)站7月27日報(bào)道，挪威能源巨頭Equinor表示，由于地緣政治沖突引發(fā)的天然氣價(jià)格飆升，該公司公布第二季度利潤好于預(yù)期，并將向股東額外返還30億美元。今年4月至6月，該公司對歐洲的天然氣供應(yīng)較上年同期增加了18%，使挪威成為歐洲最大的管道天然氣供應(yīng)國。

首席執(zhí)行官奧佩德爾在新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上表示，在此期間，Equinor已成為歐洲最重要的能源供應(yīng)商，這使得我們提供可靠的運(yùn)營至關(guān)重要。

第二季度調(diào)整后稅前利潤從上年同期的46億美元躍升至176億美元，超過了Equinor對26位分析師的調(diào)查預(yù)測的169億美元。該公司將2022年的股息和股票回購指導(dǎo)提高了30%，從2月份宣布的100億美元增至130億美元左右。

由于石油和天然氣價(jià)格高企，Equinor將第二和第三季度的特別股息從每股0.20美元提高到0.50美元，增加了約20億美元。該公司的定期季度付款仍為每股0.20美元。

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場（RBC Capital Markets）在給客戶的報(bào)告中寫道，鑒于Equinor的凈現(xiàn)金狀況，特別（股息）可能會(huì)持續(xù)到2023年，這是合理的。

該公司表示，目前計(jì)劃在2022年回購60億美元的股票，高于此前預(yù)計(jì)的50億美元。

今年5月，該公司位于北極小鎮(zhèn)哈默菲斯特（Hammerfest）外的液化天然氣工廠在中斷20個(gè)月后重啟，進(jìn)一步增加了天然氣供應(yīng)。

歐盟能源部長周二批準(zhǔn)了歐盟成員國從8月到明年3月自愿減少15%的天然氣使用量的提議。

Opedal表示，很難預(yù)測即將到來的冬天會(huì)是什么樣子，但對歐洲來說，這肯定是一個(gè)艱難的時(shí)期。

由于其國際產(chǎn)量下降，Equinor的整體油氣產(chǎn)量與去年同期基本持平，為200萬桶油當(dāng)量/天。

郝芬 譯自 OE

原文如下：

Soaring Gas Prices Power Equinor Q2 Profits

Equinor said it will return an additional $3 billion to shareholders after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter profit on the back of soaring gas prices fuelled by the war. The company boosted gas supplies to Europe by 18% in the April-June period compared to a year ago, making Norway the continent's largest supplier of piped natural gas .

"Equinor has become Europe's most important supplier of energy during this conflict, making it essential that we provide reliable operations," Chief Executive Anders Opedal told a news conference.

Adjusted earnings before tax jumped to $17.6 billion in the second quarter from $4.6 billion a year earlier, beating the $16.9 billion predicted in a poll of 26 analysts compiled by Equinor. The company raised its dividend and share buyback guidance for 2022 by 30% to a total of around $13 billion from $10 billion announced in February.

Equinor lifted its extraordinary dividend, paid as a result of high oil and gas prices, to $0.50 per share for the second and third quarters from $0.20, with the increase corresponding to about $2 billion. The company's regular quarterly payment, which remains at $0.20 per share.

"Given Equinor's net cash position, it is plausible that the specials (dividends) are likely to continue into 2023," RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients.

The company said it now plans share buybacks of $6 billion in 2022, up from a previous projection of $5 billion.

The company restarted in May its LNG plant outside the Arctic town of Hammerfest after a 20-month outage, further boosting gas deliveries.

European Union energy ministers on Tuesday approved a proposal for EU member states to voluntarily cut gas use by 15% from August to March. 

"It's difficult to predict what the coming winter will be like but it will certainly be a demanding time for Europe," Opedal said.

Equinor's overall oil and gas production was broadly unchanged year-on-year, at 2.0 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) as its international output fell.