By Dominic Chopping


Norwegian energy major Equinor ASA said Monday it has decided to stop new investments into Russia and to start the process of exiting from its Russian joint ventures following Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

"We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine," Chief Executive Anders Opedal said.

"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."

Equinor--majority owned by the Norwegian state--said it has been in Russia for over 30 years and entered into a cooperation agreement with Russian government-controlled oil company Rosneft Oil Co. in 2012.

Equinor's decision follows British energy giant BP PLC's announcement Sunday that it will exit from its nearly 20% stake in Rosneft.

At the end of 2021, Equinor had $1.2 billion in noncurrent assets in Russia, and it expects the decision to exit from Russia will lead to impairments.

Equinor has around 70 employees in Russia and produces around 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the country. This compares with total group production of just over two million barrels of oil equivalent a day during 2021.

Equinor said it maintains close contact with the authorities in Norway, the European Union, the U.S. and other countries, and will continue to comply with any new sanctions relevant to its operations.


Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-28-22 0207ET