據離岸工程網站2月9日消息 由于石油和天然氣價格飆升，挪威Equinor公司第四季度稅前利潤創下紀錄，與歐洲同行一起提高了股東支出。

調整后的稅前利潤從去年同期的7.56億美元增至第四季度季度的150億美元，超過了Equinor對23名分析師進行的民意調查預測的132億美元。

首席執行官安德斯·歐佩達爾周三表示，由于持續改進和資本紀律，Equinor去年享有250億美元的自由現金流。

他在一份聲明中表示：“我們正在以優異的性能和更高的產量從高價格的天然氣和石油中獲取價值。”

去年，隨著市場克服了疫情導致的暴跌，石油和天然氣行業出現了重大轉機，歐洲天然氣價格在1月至12月期間翻了四番，北海原油上漲了50%以上。

Equinor表示，將支付每股0.20美元的季度股息，高于第三季度的每股0.18美元，并將在四個季度內支付額外非常股息0.20美元。

該公司還計劃將其2022年的股票回購從2021年的13億美元增至50億美元，高于之前12億美元的計劃。

最近幾天，歐洲石油行業的同行公布了飆升的利潤，bp承諾增加股票回購，殼牌公司表示將提高股息和股票購買。

Equinor第四季度的石油產量為216萬桶油當量/天，比2020年同期增長6%。

該公司預計2022年其石油和天然氣產量將增長2%。

該公司還表示，將在未來十年強化其氣候雄心，到2030年，將其業務（直接和間接）的溫室氣體凈排放量減少50%。

歐佩達爾表示：“新的雄心符合巴黎協議和將全球變暖限制在1.5攝氏度的途徑。這是一個重要的步驟，需要付出巨大的努力。”

過去12個月，Equinor的股價上漲了63%，是歐洲石油和天然氣指數漲幅的兩倍多。

周三，Equinor還更新了其資本支出前景，預計2022年資本支出將從之前的90-100億美元增至100億美元。2023年的資本支出從120億美元削減至100億美元。

該公司的資本支出將在2024年達到120億美元，與之前的預測一致，并在2025年保持在這個水平。

吳恒磊 編譯自 離岸工程

原文如下：

Equinor Posts Record Q4 Results

Norway's Equinor joined European peers in hiking shareholder payouts after posting record pretax profits for the fourth quarter due to a boom in oil and gas prices.

Adjusted earnings before tax rose to $15.0 billion in the October-December quarter from $756 million in the same period a year ago, exceeding the $13.2 billion predicted in a poll of 23 analysts compiled by Equinor.

CEO Anders Opedal said on Wednesday Equinor enjoyed a free cash flow of $25 billion last year as a result of "continued improvements and capital discipline".

"We are capturing value from high prices for gas and liquids with excellent performance and increased production," he said a in statement.

The oil and gas industry saw a massive turnaround last year as markets overcame the pandemic-driven slump of 2020, with the price of European natural gas quadrupling between January and December while North Sea crude rose more than 50%.

Majority state-owned Equinor said it would pay a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, up from $0.18 per share paid in the third quarter, and will pay an additional extraordinary dividend of $0.20 for a period of four quarters.

The company also plans to increase its share buybacks in 2022 to $5 billion from $1.3 billion in 2021, and up from the previous plan of $1.2 billion.

European oil industry peers have posted soaring profits in recent days, with BP promising to increase its share buybacks and Shell saying it will raise both dividends and its stock purchases.

Equinor's quarterly petroleum production stood at 2.16 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the fourth quarter, up 6% from the same period of 2020.

The company expects its oil and gas production to grow by 2% in 2022.

The company also said it would sharpen its climate ambitions for the next decade, reducing net group-wide greenhouse gas emissions from its operations - scope 1 and scope 2 emissions - by 50% by 2030.

"The new ambition is aligned with the Paris agreement and a pathway to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. This is a significant step that will demand a great effort," Opedal said.

Equinor's shares have risen 63% in the last 12 months, more than double the rise in the European oil and gas index.

On Wednesday, Equinor also updated its outlook for capital spending, which is now expected to be at $10 billion in 2022, up from $9-10 billion seen previously. For 2023 capital spending was cut to $10 billion from $12 billion.

The company's capital spending will amount to $12 billion in 2024, in line with its previous forecast, and to stay at that level in 2025.