Since the beginning of the war, Norway has profited wryly enormously from the unrest that has arisen in the energy markets.
The country is one of the few that can offer Western and Central Europe an alternative to Russian gas. Pipelines are already in place, new ones are under construction and the distance is manageable.
The largest after Gazprom
Norwegian energy company Equinor was the second largest gas exporter to Europe for a long time after Gazprom. Due to the energy transition (more gas, less coal in Eastern Europe in particular), gas exports have been increasing for some time. With the outbreak of the war, that has become even more so for the Norwegian company.
Equinor (formerly known as Statoil) posted a sharply higher profit in the first quarter than in the same quarter last year. Profit rose from 5.5 billion dollars to 18 billion dollars (almost 17 billion euros). At the end of February, war broke out in Ukraine and already high energy prices rose further.
Norwegian gas of vital importance
The Netherlands also imports more and more gas from Norway. It had already started well before the war in Ukraine. Norwegian gas must partly compensate for the closure of the gas fields in Groningen.
Poland has stopped buying Russian gas since this month because it refuses to give in to Russia’s demand for it to be paid in rubles. At the end of this year, imports from Norway will increase, because then a new gas pipeline that runs from Norway via Denmark to Poland has to be put into operation.
Ridiculous
“But do we have to pay those gigantic prices to Norway,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wondered on Sunday. “Four to five times what we paid last year. That’s ridiculous.”
He believes that Norway cannot simply claim the extra earnings. “They have to share those extra profits. This is not normal. Because indirectly they benefit from the war that Putin started.”
Morawiecki believes that Ukraine in particular should receive part of those extra revenues.
Also in Norway there is criticism of making big profits thanks to the war. “There are times when it’s not fun to make money. And this is one of those times given the situation,” the Norwegian energy minister said in March.
Huge fund
Norway has been investing the proceeds of oil and gas exports in a government investment fund since 1996. That fund has grown to no less than 1.2 trillion euros and invests in 9,300 companies worldwide.
Because the financial markets have been under tension in recent months, the value of the fund has also fallen somewhat. In the first quarter, it lost almost 70 billion euros in value.
