In 2021, Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor paid $8.9 billion dollars in corporate tax to authorities.
In addition to $8.9 billion in corporate income taxes, Equinor also paid $2.9 billion in royalty payments and fees to local and national governments including host entitlement. Equinor says that $8.3 billion of the total amount was paid in Norway, where Equinor has the largest share of its operations and earnings.
“Equinor is dedicated to contributing to progress for societies, and paying the right tax where value is created is an important part of this commitment. We delivered strong earnings for 2021 and are hence able to contribute to society with larger tax payments,” said CFO Torgrim Reitan .
Equinor said that, in 2021, it delivered excellent operational performance and increased production. Combined with higher prices for both gas and liquids, this resulted in stronger earnings. Tax payments for 2021 were considerably higher than for 2020, a year impacted by the global pandemic leading to relatively low commodity prices.
For comparison, Equinor group companies in 2020 collectively paid $3.1 billion in corporate income taxes and $1.4 billion in royalty payments and fees to local and national governments including host entitlement. About $2.7 billion of the total amount was paid in Norway.
Furthermore, for 2021, Equinor paid close to $1 billion in environmental taxes and fees, including CO2 quotas. Taxes on emissions have increased over the years and are incentivising emissions reductions.
“Carbon pricing is a key enabler of the energy transition. A price on carbon encourages emitters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The early adoption of CO2 taxes in Norway has incentivised Equinor to keep reducing emissions from our oil and gas operations,” said Reitan.