Equinor has announced its ambition to become a net-zero energy company by 2050, according to a press release.

Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, said in a statement: “Equinor is committed to being a leader in the energy transition.

It is a sound business strategy to ensure long-term competitiveness during a period of profound changes in the energy systems as society moves towards net-zero. Over the coming months, we will update our strategy to continue to create value for our shareholders and to realize this ambition.

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This strategy is in line with Equinor’s value-driven strategy for significant growth within renewables.

Despite this net-zero pledge, Equinor still expects to deliver an average annual oil and gas production growth of around 3% from 2019 to 2026. 

In order to achieve net-zero emissions, it will require a well-functioning market for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and natural sinks, as well as the development of competitive technologies for hydrogen.

Earlier this year, Equinor announced its plans to achieve carbon-neutral global operations by 2030 and to reduce absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Norway to near zero by 2050.