Equinor saw its natural gas sales increase by 29 percent year on year in 2018, the Norwegian energy giant announced in a statement on Thursday.
The company said it sold a total of 100 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas worldwide, which was worth around $26 billion.
'As more countries prepare for the energy transition, Equinor sees strong market opportunities for gas and expects global demand to grow by around 10 percent towards 2030,' the statement said.
The company is the second-largest natural gas supplier to Europe, and is the biggest gas producer on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, according to the statement.
Norwegian gas, which provides about 25 percent of Europe’s gas in total, is mostly exported to the U.K. and Germany, it added.
“The U.K. has successfully reduced its CO2 emissions by more than one third – to levels since the late 19th century – using gas, renewables and other measures,' Irene Rummelhoff, Equinor’s executive vice president for marketing, midstream and processing, said in the statement.
'We are also encouraged by the policy signals from Germany on the role of gas in phasing out coal and look forward to continue working with our partners across Europe to realize the full potential of the energy transition,” she added.
Natural gas is relatively a cleaner energy resource compared to oil and coal, and plays a significant role to meet growing global energy demand while lowering overall emissions around the world.
'The world needs more energy, but lower emissions. Natural gas is well positioned to provide secure, competitive and sustainable energy to consumers and industry,' Rummelhoff said.
Natural gas is 'reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent when replacing coal, providing needed back-up to renewables and offering a long-term solution for the low carbon future if converted to hydrogen,' she added.
As the world's governments and most energy companies target limiting global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, major investments in future gas supply will be needed in the coming decades, Equinor said in the statement.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr