Equinor’s Board of Directors has decided to stop new investments into Russia, and to start the process of exiting Equinor’s Russian Joint Ventures.

We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world, and we are thinking of all those who are suffering because of the military action.

In the current situation, we regard our position as untenable. We will now stop new investments into our Russian business, and we will start the process of exiting our joint ventures in a manner that is consistent with our values. Our top priority in this difficult situation is the safety and security of our people.

—Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor

Early this week Equinor will present a commitment to contribute funding to the humanitarian effort in the region.

Equinor has been in Russia for more than 30 years and entered a cooperation agreement with Rosneft in 2012.

Equinor has operated in compliance with Norwegian, European Union and United States’ sanctions. Equinor maintains close contact with the authorities in Norway, the European Union, the United States, and other countries, and will continue to comply with any new sanctions relevant to its operations.

At the end of 2021 Equinor had US$1.2 billion in non-current assets in Russia. The company expects that the decision to start the process of exiting Joint Ventures in Russia will impact the book value of Equinor’s Russian assets and lead to impairments.