The innovations that unite past and future

Equinor’s 50-year history is the story of how Norway found oil and transformed it into a source of jobs, growth and welfare to benefit several generations. And what ties this all together is innovation and technology, along with the people who dared to think outside the box, to adopt a long-term perspective and to see the bigger picture in solving seemingly impossible technological challenges. It is the people who have brought their existing knowledge and experience into new frontiers and industries, making new advancements based on specialised knowledge and an unwavering belief in the viability of innovative solutions.

Today the world faces a formidable energy transition that brings Equinor new opportunities to continue its pioneering role. The company’s stated goal is to be a world leader within offshore wind, and a European leader within carbon capture, transport and storage. And not least, to successfully produce oil and gas with the lowest emissions anywhere in the world.

How can technology and innovation help us achieve these goals? Here are some of the projects we are currently working on:

Back in the day, Statoil had a network of petrol stations along the roads. In the future, Equinor might have a network of charging stations on the seabed. These charging stations will be important for underwater drones that will live and perform janitorial services on the seabed. Underwater drones represent a vital and essential technology in the future vision for the Norwegian shelf. This is just one of the new drone technologies being developed by Equinor along with Kongsberg Maritime. Equinor has commissioned a charging plate or surface that can be used by all types of underwater drones. The company is currently working to make this a unified industry standard.

What lies behind a somewhat mundane name is nothing less than what Aftenposten (Norwegian newspaper) deemed the best Norwegian invention since 1980. In short, multiphase transport (link to separate article about Multiphase transport) is the technology that enables the transportation of oil and gas in the same pipeline, all the way from the seabed and up to a platform, or to an onshore installation.

The name may not be as exciting as the invention itself, but multiphase transport is the pioneering technology that makes it possible to transport oil and gas in the same pipe, all the way from the seabed and up to a platform, or all the way onshore. The quantum leap was made by SINTEF and the Institute for Energy Technology on assignment for Equinor in the 1980s, but it is every bit as relevant today: This innovation makes it possible to extract oil and gas without building platforms for every discovery. It leaves a smaller climate footprint – and the technology, which is still being refined and further developed, is thus an important contribution toward the ambition of achieving net zero in 2050.

CCS, also called carbon capture and storage, is a hot topic these days, but Equinor has been doing this for 25 years on Sleipner and Snøhvit. The technology is now being upgraded together with the partners in the Northern Lights project outside Bergen. In many ways, CCS is the very definition of innovation: Taking two things that already exist and joining or reconstructing them in new ways to create new value. Northern Lights has the goal of developing a market for commercial storage of CO₂. And, in combination with hydrogen production from natural gas, carbon capture and storage also presents a new business opportunity. In April, Equinor was awarded a licence to develop the CO₂ storage sites in Smeaheia in the North Sea to accommodate 20 million tonnes per year; a very substantial increase in CO₂ storage capacity on the Norwegian continental shelf. Together with Northern Lights, Equinor’s goal is to contribute to CO₂ reductions equivalent to half of Norway’s annual emissions.