Equinor ASA (EQNR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome to the Annual General Meeting of Equinor ASA. Welcome also to non-Norwegian participants. Simultaneous translation to English is available. If you're logged into the Lumi AGM, you can choose English version by selecting preferred broadcast language. We will, therefore, continue in Norwegian. My name is Tone Lunde Bakker, and I'm the Chair of the Corporate Assembly and the Nomination Committee of Equinor. As you will see from the notice convening the meeting, the Board of Equinor ASA has appointed me to open today's Annual General Meeting in accordance with Section 5-12 of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act. With me on the panel, I have Chair of the Board of Directors, Jon Erik Reinhardsen; President and Chief Executive Officer, Anders Opedal; General Counsel, Legal, Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen; and Company Secretary, Marte Johanson Hanasand. As you will see, we are seated here with a 2-meter distance between us, and we'll observe COVID-19 risk mitigating measures. And we will continue to do so also by disinfecting the rostrum between speakers. This year, the Annual General Meeting will be held as a digital meeting, where shareholders attend online. The reason for a digital Annual General Meeting is the authority's recommendation to avoid large gathering and is in accordance with interim legislation exempting companies from physical attendance requirements to reduce the COVID-19 risk. I want to start by giving you some practical information. Items will be open for voting once we have recorded the number of shares represented. We expect to complete the list in a few minutes to ensure registration of those who log in. You will then be eligible to vote on the various items being shown on your screen, and you will see that through the polling icon. We will open all items on the agenda at the same time, and you choose how you want to cast your vote by pressing the button for, for, against or abstain on each item. You are free to change your vote on an individual item until the point where that item's vote is closed. You will no longer then be able to vote on this item. Shareholders are welcome to submit questions and comments to the items whenever they want until the item in question is closed. [Operator Instructions] Shareholders will be identified by name but not by the number of shares held. We want to point out that questions or comments received after an item is closed will not be answered. And we may also group questions together and answer them jointly wherever this is practical and expedient for the conduct of the general meeting. Questions related to items not on the agenda will generally not be addressed. In order to take into account a natural delay in the live broadcast stream of about 30 seconds, there will be a short pause after each item is presented. We do this to ensure that as many votes as possible are registered. During the proceedings, we may also need to take short pauses to ensure that the meeting is conducted in a good manner. Representatives from our external auditor, EY, will also monitor DNB's voting proceedings. Since no shareholders who submitted proposals can not attend in person, 9 of them have sent us [ recent ] supporting statements, and they will be read by a representative from Equinor. This statement will take no longer than 5 minutes per shareholder proposal, and such a time limit is necessary to ensure that the AGM be held in the most appropriate and time-efficient manner possible. If anyone else wishes to comment or put questions, there is a 1,000-character limit to messages in the Lumi system. In my capacity as the person opening the meeting, it's my duty under Section 5-13 of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act to make a list of the shares that are legally represented at this AGM, and DNB will hand over the list, which will be accounted for. We have the following portion of the share capital represented. 2,182,875,850 shares are represented by shareholders logged into Lumi. 3,307,414 shares are represented by proxy. Let me see. 122,915,217 shares are represented by advanced notes cast. 294,803,425 votes or shares are represented by voting instructions to the Chair of the Board. And in sum, this -- it was 2,363,309,906 votes. And this is 79.93% of the share capital, which is represented here at this Annual General Meeting. We have now opened the vote for all items on the agenda and move forward to deal with the first item, namely the election of chair of the meeting. Please note that the vote will soon be closed, so please cast your vote now. To shareholders who missed the explanation about how to vote, you will also find this information on the log-in information page. And we also wish to point out that you are also free to vote on remaining items now. The voting results for all items will follow from the attachment to the minutes, which will be posted on the company's website shortly after the Annual General Meeting. We will not wait for the counting of votes on each individual item if there is a clear majority for or against the motion. The Board of Directors proposes that general meeting elects the Chair of the Corporate Assembly, that is me, to chair this meeting. And I will ask, are there any other proposals from any shareholders? We haven't received any other nominations for chair of the meeting, and we hereby close this vote. DNB has now confirmed that the proposed resolution is endorsed by a majority of the votes cast, and the chair of the corporate assembly has been elected to chair this meeting. We now move to the next item, approval of the notice and the agenda. And please remember that we close the vote once we have dealt with it. Section 5-10 of the [Audio Gap] should be sent at no later than 3 weeks prior to the meeting. The notice convening the meeting and the notice of attendance was sent to all shareholders registered in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository on the date of the notification pursuant to the deadline specified in the Act. The notice, financial statements and directors' report as well as other attachment to the notice are published on the company's website in compliance with Section 5-11a of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act and the company's articles of association. That notification has taken place in accordance with the act and the provisions of the articles of association. In my capacity as chair, I propose that after the accounts by the Chairman of the Board and the CEO relating to items 6 and 7, a representative from the company will read out the supporting statements from the shareholders submitting motions under items 8 through 17. Once all the proposals have been presented, we will open the floor for answers to the interventions on the 10 shareholders proposal plus items 6 and 7. The point of dealing with these items together is to maximize practicality and time efficiency. Voting will take place in accordance with the notice of the meeting. It is only interventions, questions and comments that will be merged for the said items. This is the same method we have employed at previous general meetings. We have not received any questions or comments, and we hereby close this vote. DNB has now confirmed that the motion has been adopted by a majority of the votes cast, and the general meeting is declared to have been legally convened and the agenda is adopted. We'll now move over to the next item, [indiscernible] to co-sign the minutes together with the chair of the meeting. And please remember that we will close the vote once we have dealt with this item. The following are nominated to sign the minutes of the meeting along with the chair of the meeting. Bjørn Ståle Haavik, the state's representative from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen, General Counsel and SAP Legal of Equinor. Are there any other nominations from shareholders? No other proposals have been received, and we now close the vote on this item. DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has been adopted by a majority of the votes cast and that Bjørn Ståle Haavik and Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen have been elected to co-sign the minutes along with the chair of the meeting. The general meeting will now deal with item 6, the approval of the annual report and accounts for Equinor ASA and the Equinor Group for 2020, including the Board's proposal for the distribution of fourth quarter 2020, and we will close the item once we have dealt with it. As mentioned earlier, interventions, questions and comments related to item 7 to 17 will be dealt with in conjunction with the discussions under item 6. You may now submit any questions or comments relating to items 6, 7 and to the shareholder motions 8 to 17. Please note that questions and comments will not be published until after the report and supporting statements. Please also state which item your message relates to. The director's report and annual accounts with the auditor's report and the statement by the corporate assembly are included in the annual report and have been made available on the company's website. Reading them aloud is, therefore, unnecessary. I now give the floor to Chair of the Board, Jon Erik Reinhardsen, who will account for the Board's view of operations and proposal for dividend, item 6; the Board's proposal for authorization to distribute dividend based on approved annual accounts for 2020, that is item 7; and the Board's report on corporate governance, item 18. The Chair will also account for the Board's response to the 10 shareholders' proposals, items 8 to 17. The floor will then be given to CEO, Anders Opedal. And later, under item 19 on the agenda, the Chair of the Board will give a separate report on the Board of Directors' proposed guidelines and statements regarding remuneration of executive management.

Thank you, Tone. Dear fellow shareholders, every year, we gather for the Annual General Meeting. This year, for the first time, on a fully digital platform. I must admit that I, as many had hoped and perhaps believed, that by this time, we could again see each other in person. But that's not how it is. A lot remains before we get back to some sort of normal. 2020 will remain as a year we will all remember, and that goes for Equinor as well. I wish to start with safety. In a year with particular challenges related to COVID-19, the company has handled a demanding situation in a good manner. The extent of infection control measures and management have varied from location to location, but we have seen a limited impact on operations by the pandemic in most places. Last year, we saw a decline both in frequency of serious incidents and personal injury compared to the year before. But in 2020, we also had several large incidents in Norwegian onshore plants. There was a fire at the methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden and fire at the LNG plant in Hammerfest LNG. Furthermore, seepage of oily water into the ground was identified at Mongstad. These are incidents which challenged the safety of our employees and have a negative impact on the environment, affect the supply of our products and have an impact on our financial results. We acknowledge that we have too many serious incidents. We have not sufficiently secured good learning and compliance after incidents, leading to repeating cases. The lack of capacity and expertise have been addressed as areas of concern. The Board has a clear expectation to see improvements here in the time ahead. Certain milestones marked victory of the company. For last year, I would like to highlight the change of Group President and CEO. After more than 14 years with the company, Eldar Sætre chose to step down as Group President. Not only has he contributed to Equinor for 4 decades, that is Statoil first and then Equinor, but he has steered the company through 2 oil price crisis and a pandemic. He also staked out a clear course for the company's way forward. With the Board of Directors, he lay a strategy, making us well prepared for the energy transition and the tremendous changes that society is facing. Eldar was the first Group CEO who was recruited internally. In a period marked by a lot of turbulence, his sound knowledge of the company and extended experience made a great difference. He lay a solid foundation for Anders Opedal to keep building on now. So we send our heartfelt thanks to Eldar and wish him the best of luck onwards. The process identifying a new Group President and CEO is one of the most important tasks of the Board of Directors. It was a thorough process in which the Board considered internal as well as external candidates. We are pleased to yet again have found the best candidate within the company. Equinor is in a phase of considerable transformation when the world needs to keep taking more action to combat climate change. The Board's mandates to Anders is to accelerate Equinor's development as a broad energy company and create greater value for our shareholders through the energy transition. The world is changing rapidly, and we face great steps to respond to the climate challenge. Equinor wants to be a leading company in the energy transition, and we need to take charge to rise to the challenge. Anders is now well underway with establishing a new organization. An updated strategy showing how the company will prioritize efforts, capital and expertise in the time ahead will be presented at our Capital Markets Day on the 15th of June. 2020 was a highly demanding year for Equinor, for the industry and for society at large. Equinor operations were solid, but the results were heavily impacted by low oil and gas prices. And we had certain plants out of production due to incidents. The company took forceful measures in response to demanding market conditions. And the company delivered $3.7 billion in cost cuts, including reduced international investments, exceeding the ambitions we set as the pandemic hit. In 2020, net operating income was negative $3.42 billion compared to positive $9.3 billion in 2019. Adjusted earnings before tax ended up at $3.94 billion, a reduction from $13.5 billion in 2019, whereas the adjusted earnings after taxes were $0.92 billion. The cash flow from operations after tax landed at $10.9 billion in 2020. Average CO2 emissions from Equinor-operated production was 8 kilos per barrel in 2020, which is a reduction from 9.5 per barrel the preceding year. Equinor continues to optimize the oil and gas portfolio with new projects to be sanctioned in 2021, 2022, having an average breakeven oil price of around $30 per barrel. Based on this competitive portfolio, Equinor expects production growth in oil and gas going towards 2026. The tax package offered by Norwegian authorities last year was an important measure to secure jobs and activities for oil companies as well as for the service and supply industry. This was significant and shows the value of cooperation between industry authorities and unions. In 2020, we've also shown the strong ability to create value through transactions in offshore wind. Equinor entered into an agreement to farm down in the Dogger Bank Wind Farm A and B and established a strategic partnership in the U.S. where BP agreed to farm in 50% into the Empire Wind and the Beacon Wind assets. And as you have seen, our growth in this segment continues. CEO Anders Opedal will cover the earnings in greater detail. At last year's Annual General Meeting, Equinor's U.S. projects were thoroughly discussed. Many wanted to understand how the company could end up in the situation. In June, the Board appointed a committee led by state-authorized public accountant Eli Moe-Helgesen of PwC to review the company's operations in the U.S. with particular focus on onshore operations. The objective was to learn and improve, and the committee submitted its report in October 2020. The report was thorough and critical. Equinor has had great potential loss as a consequence of investments in the U.S. This was mainly driven by ambitious growth in volume and too optimistic expectations of the oil price. Furthermore, the fast growth resulted in a period of extensive challenges of control. The Board and the management should have seen and addressed the challenge earlier. And it is now the responsibility of the Board and the management to ensure that we learn from this. At the same time, the report showed that extensive improvement measures implemented when the challenges became internally known in 2014 did yield results. The Board and the administration keep this matter high on the agenda and will continue in the time ahead to follow up and implement measures based on the PwC report [indiscernible] activities get a lot of attention. Often, it is positive and at times, more critical. In addition to the operations in the U.S., our operations in Angola have received a lot of attention in 2020 and this year. Both these cases led to parliamentary hearings in Norway. I attended these public hearings, along with current and former CEOs and former Chairs of the Board on behalf of the company. The purpose was to elucidate the dialogue between Equinor and the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in these matters. It's important to be transparent about our operations. We strive to achieve this through our reporting and other communication with shareholders, authorities and society in general. Lessons learned from the U.S. have already been mentioned. As for Angola, we are in regular dialogue with Sonangol and express our impatience for progress on the R&D center for which Equinor has contributed funding. I will now give an account of the company's 2020 operations, including the Board's report on dividends, the Board's work in 2020 and the Board's statement on corporate governance, items number 6, 7 and 18. The Board's statement on remuneration for leading -- for executive personnel is addressed especially under item 19. The company's dividend policy is to grow the annual cash dividend in line with long-term underlying earnings. The Board approves first to third quarter interim dividends based on an authorization from the general meeting. The general meeting approves the fourth quarter and thereby, the total annual dividend based on a proposal from the Board. The Board of Directors proposes to the general meeting for the fourth quarter of 2020 a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is in line with our dividend policy and is based on our results in 2020. Like previous years, the Board will ask for the authorization of the general meeting to determine quarterly dividends until the next Annual General Meeting. This is in line with our dividend policy, which should also take into account the expected cash flow, investment plans, funding needs, acquired financial capacity and the company's overall situation. Let me go on to give an account of the Board's work in 2020. Management and corporate governance are based on transparency and equal treatment of all our shareholders. It is the mandate of the Board to ensure long-term value creation for our shareholders, taking into consideration other stakeholders of the company and the society around us. The Equinor Board places emphasis on keeping a high standard of corporate governance, in line with Norwegian and international standards of this practice. Board must be independent and focused on preventing conflicts of interest between shareholders, the Board and management. The Board held 8 ordinary and 9 extraordinary Board meetings in 2020. A high number of extraordinary Board meetings was mainly due to the COVID-19 situation. Meeting attendance was at 99%. The entire Board of Directors or parts of it will normally visit various Equinor plants and office premises in Norway and globally. And at least every other year, all Board members travel for an extended Board visit to one of Equinor's offices or plants abroad. This was different in 2020 due to COVID-19. The Board often discusses climate-related upside and downside risks and Equinor's strategic response to these. In 2020, the Board has worked holistically with climate risks and the transition of the company. This includes the climate ambitions announced by the company concerning emission reductions on the Norwegian continental shelf and globally and to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Growth in renewable is also an important topic on the Board's agenda. We experienced an increasing level of interest and dialogue with shareholders on climate and how Equinor can contribute towards the energy transition. We appreciate this dialogue. We're also pleased that the company's energy transition is being noticed in the global arena. A few weeks ago, Equinor was included in TIME's list of the world's 100 Most Influential Companies. The result of good communication with some of our larger shareholders, including Climate Action 100+, we announced on 19th of April that at next year's AGM, we will present a plan for the company's energy transition for a consultative vote. This is to be repeated every 3 years. Equinor will report on annual target achievement. Sustainability has been integrated into Equinor's strategy and business model for decades. With a separate plan for energy transition, we invite the shareholders to gain an even better overview of what we do and how we deliver on our ambitions. CEO will go into more detail on this in his presentation. Now I wish to address the Board's response to proposals from shareholders in items 8 through 17. In the material made available ahead of the Annual General Meeting, the Board has commented on the proposals and provide recommendations for the voting. I would still like to elaborate on some of these topics here. In the course of 2020, Equinor announced an extensive set of climate ambitions. Among the most important, continued reduction in own emissions from oil and gas production; reach carbon-neutral global operations by 2030; reach net zero emissions by 2050, including category 1, 2 and 3 emissions; and to promote profitable growth in renewable energy and the development of low-carbon solutions. Transparency and reporting on climate and the environment is important, and the company aspires to be a leading company in this area. We will continue to develop this. And I can already share with you now that we've decided that starting next year, we will share information on CO2 emissions also per individual field. We believe that climate risk is best described at company level. And furthermore, Equinor has presented this year a new approach to how the company works to protect biological diversity. One part of this, that for Equinor to establish voluntary exclusion zones for our own operations and activities. The Board considers that energy transition plan, which will be presented to the Annual General Meeting in 2022, will provide answers in response to several of the topics addressed in the shareholder proposals. When Equinor develops its business strategy, a lot of considerations need to be made. Climate and future market outlooks are very important and the same goes for profitability, value creation and capital discipline. Equinor holds a special role as steward of resources, as a key company in Norwegian society, as an employer, as a driver for the Norwegian industry and as one of the largest taxpayers in Europe. Equinor wants to develop as a broad energy company and contribute to the energy transition in Norway. We believe that the company's already ambitious climate plans take out a clear direction for Equinor. Furthermore, the company has already notified that it will provide an update of short- and medium-term climate targets at the Capital Markets Day in June and that next year, the energy transition plan will be presented before the AGM. The Board finds this to be a more robust and holistic approach for the energy transition, that -- what is outlined in the proposal in item 8. The Board thinks it is very difficult to perceive the micro and macroeconomic as well as the legal consequences of the presented proposal. Although the plan will include some of the submitted proposals, we nevertheless don't recommend the Annual General Meeting to set specific directions for the completion of the work on the plan. But the shareholders will next year have the opportunity to participate in a consultative vote on an overall plan. Board believes that the company's climate strategy supports a sustainable transition to a low-carbon society. The course of Equinor remains firm: always safe, high operational values and low-carbon emissions. Equinor is an international broad energy company, and we'll continue to search for the most competitive oil and gas resources of high value, which may be produced with the lowest possible operational emissions. Equinor expects a gradual decline in global demand for oil and gas from around 2030. It is absolutely needed for the world to reach the climate targets. Value creation, not volume replacement, is and will be the guideline for Equinor's decisions. In the long run, Equinor expects to produce less oil and gas than today. With this backdrop and with the included case documents, the Board has recommended voting against the submitted proposals. 2020 was a year with challenges that struck everyone in various ways. Quite the [ timing ] situation, the company has handled the challenges in a solid manner. Now when prices have gone up, we see that this reaps results and provides a good foundation for value creation. On behalf of the Board, I wish to thank CEO Anders Opedal and his management team for good deliveries in difficult times. And not the least, I wish to express a special gratitude to all employees offshore, at onshore plants, in offices and working from home who have worked hard and delivered even in a difficult year. Without this effort, we would not be as robust as a company as we are today. And with that, I give the floor to the CEO. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Jon Erik. We'll disinfect the rostrum quickly before giving the floor to our CEO, Anders Opedal.

Thank you, Chair and dear fellow shareholders. I've been looking forward to this event, my first Annual General Meeting. And for the first time, the AGM is conducted as a fully digital Annual General Meeting, but virtual meetings via the screen is something we've become accustomed to. In the course of 2020, Equinor and the rest of our society have become more digitalized. This has some clear advantages. But unfortunately, we also see that a life with COVID-19 restrictions and a sensitive use of home office can also have a negative effect on health and job satisfaction. But I would also like to commend colleagues, both in Norway and abroad, who have gone to work at our facilities offshore and onshore and kept our operations safely running. They've been away from their loved ones while the pandemic developed, combined with strict infection control protocols and reduced socialization with colleagues to a minimum. It's too early to summarize all the lessons learned after the pandemic. But it's not too early to express my warm gratitude to everyone who are making a huge effort to ensure safe and secure operations, supplying energy to people and industry across the world. 2020 was an extraordinary year in many ways. The pandemic caused human suffering and impacted societies across the world. The global economy was hit and energy industry was impacted by high volatility in the markets. This required an extraordinary effort from our employees, suppliers and authorities. I wish to thank all employees for delivering solid operations in a challenging year, but the financial performance in 2020 is strongly influenced by the low oil and gas prices and impairment. In addition to the impact on the markets, COVID-19 has severely impacted our projects and operations which were most severely affected such as in Brazil. As the Chair of the Board also mentioned, we established a powerful action plan early to secure financial robustness during the pandemic. With hard work and commitment across the organization, we exceeded our plan. We achieved improvements of more than $3.7 billion through cutting operational, CapEx and exploration costs. This positions us for strong value creation and cash flow in 2021 and the years ahead. The uncertain market situation was challenging for the entire industry, and the interim changes to the petroleum tax regime in Norway adopted last summer were very important. These measures stimulated investments and maintained the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, enabling companies to realize planned projects at a time with much uncertainty about oil prices. It helped maintain competence and capabilities at Norwegian shipyards and in the Norwegian supply industry, which, in turn, facilitates for further development towards the green transition. Throughout the year, the level of activity in Norway has been high, and we have delivered on the expectations of contributing to the award of contracts to the competitive Norwegian supply industry. Today, I would like to spend some time on commenting on last year's performance and offer some reflections around the markets in which we operate. And then I want to say a few words on our strategic development. But let me start with safety. Safety, security must always be our #1 priority. Our most important responsibility is to avoid major accidents and ensure that everyone can return home from work safe. In 2020, we had too many incidents. This is not satisfactory. The safety performance shows an improvement over the past years. But as the Chair also addressed, the fires at Hammerfest LNG and at Tjeldbergodden were among the incidents in 2020 which show we must further strengthen our safety work. Fortunately, no one were injured. But the fires were very serious and had major consequences. We investigate all serious incidents and near-misses to identify their cause and implement measures. Conclusions and findings are shared across the company and with our partners and suppliers. After the fires, we've launched several improvement initiatives across the company. Competence and capacity, capability mapping plus a separate project to strengthen management, organization and governance are among the measures which will ensure safe and competitive operations in a long-term perspective. We use reports from the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority and our own investigations to extract learning. Employee representatives and HSE personnel are also involved in this work. The target is always to improve our performance and to strengthen safety. We have worked systematically with improvement over many years. This has been a must to be a robust and competitive company. But the basic premise for all improvement work must be and shall be that it doesn't compromise safety. On the contrary, it must help enhance safety. This is a demanding balance. And we're, therefore, humble and attentive when we learned that even in this area, there may be instances where we have not always been good enough. Let me continue with the financial performance for 2020. As the Chair mentioned, 2020 was a very challenging year in terms of results being impacted by the prices. In 2020, IFRS operating income was negative $3.42 million (sic) [ $3.42 billion ] compared to positive $9.3 billion in 2019. The decrease was primarily driven by lower oil and gas prices. We delivered adjusted earnings of $3.94 billion before tax and $0.92 billion after tax. The return on average capital employed was 1.8%, and cash flow from operations after tax was $10.9 billion. In 2020, Equinor delivered a total equity production of 2,070,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day. We delivered cash flow from operations of almost $11 billion after tax, and we have reduced cost and CapEx by more than $3.7 billion. We reduced investments to USD 7.8 billion, approximately 20% below guiding for the year. Our response to the pandemic was important to ensure robustness in 2020. But even more important, it enables us to deliver strong cash flow and value creation in 2021 and the years ahead. The first quarter this year saw considerably higher realized prices. We delivered a free cash flow of more than $5 billion. We also reported good adjusted earnings and good cash flow from the international upstream activities. It's encouraging to see that the improvement work pays off. In the first quarter of this year, we sold the U.S. Bakken field. By doing so, we focused our efforts to more competitive projects in our portfolio, so that we can deliver higher value to our shareholders. Effective from the second quarter 2020, we started reporting the U.S.A. as a separate reporting segment. Our Chair of the Board mentioned the external investigation of Equinor's U.S. activities, it was a thorough critical report. And in collaboration with the Board, the Corporate Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring a focus on learning from previous incidents. And we are in the process of implementing such learning. We're also raising the visibility of the results from our renewables activities. Effective from the first quarter 2021, we started reporting this as a separate segment. The divestments made in 2020 in the U.S.A. and the U.K. contributed positively to the first quarter financial results by almost USD 1.4 billion. This confirmed our ability to create value by securing access to and mature renewable projects. Then a few words about the market situation. As I said, the situation in the markets were demanding in 2020. We see a clear improvement with the rollout of vaccines and societies that are now in the process of reopening in parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. But the situation in India caused for our concern. Positive signals in other parts of the world has contributed to increased optimism. In this quarter, we have seen that the global economy has become more stable. And during this quarter, the oil prices have also been supported by strong efforts from OPEC Plus and European and American stimulation packages. We also observed the strong growth in European gas prices because of high demand and low LNG imports. But there is still much uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we must be prepared for considerable volatility going forward. Among last year's highlights was the start-up of the new gas module at Troll C and the Snorre expansion project, which came on stream ahead of schedule and well below budget. The Johan Sverdrup field continues to deliver major value. The first phase of the field development was repaid after 16 months. And the production capacity has already increased to 535,000 barrels of oil per day, 1 month ahead of the original plan. And this is 100,000 barrels more than the original basis when the field went on stream. We also established a new unit, FLX, aimed at enhancing value creation from fields in late life. Together with our partners at Statfjord, we have decided to invest NOK 3 billion in the Statfjord East field. This free its recovery by 23 million barrels of oil equivalents. And last week, we received the happy news that our PDO changes have been approved. We continue the important work of improving energy efficiency at our facilities, offshore and onshore. And last year, we successfully reduced emissions in Norway by 280,000 tons of carbon through operational measures. Let me also say a few words about our exploration activity. We completed 20 exploration wells last year, which resulted in 9 discoveries. We are particularly happy about the discoveries we made on the Norwegian continental shelf close to existing infrastructure. They can be produced profitably with low carbon emissions. We had a strong project portfolio in the pipeline with an average breakeven price of around $30 per barrel for the project, which is pending approval in 2021 to 2022. 2020 was a year of solid value, capturing from offshore wind and good progress in our renewables portfolio. The plan for development and operation, the PDO, of the floating offshore wind project, Hywind Tampen, was approved and construction is well underway. Just before Christmas, Norwegian authorities announced their funding decisions for the Northern Lights project. This project is part of the government Longship project designed to develop a full value chain for carbon capture and storage, and we started construction of the landing facility at Øygarden. We took the investment decision for Dogger Bank A and B, and we won the largest-ever U.S. wind award. In addition, Equinor is leading the U.K. H2H Saltend project, which aims to convert gas to hydrogen in combination with carbon capture and storage. We have recently obtained important financial support from U.K. authorities. Driven -- we expect the organic investment to be $9 billion to $10 billion on average in 2021 and '22, and driven by the strong opportunities set in front of us. We took action when the -- impacted us last year and reduced the dividend from $0.27 to $0.09 per share. Since then, we have quarterly and step-by-step increased dividend somewhat to $0.12 in the fourth quarter and $0.15 in the first quarter of this year, in step with the gradual normalization of the markets and in step with the strengthening positions for Equinor. The world must continue to fight climate change even during a pandemic. My message, when I took up the post of CEO for Equinor, was that we will create value as a leading company in the green transition. The strategic direction is still on the safe operations, that is always safe, high value and low carbon. We continue the work of reducing carbon intensity from operations, and we are accelerating the transformation towards a broader energy company. We started 2020 by launching ambitious climate ambitions, to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions from our self-operated fields and onshore facilities in Norway by 40% by 2030, 70% by 2040 and down towards near 0 by 2050. The ambition covers all greenhouse gas emissions from offshore field and onshore plants in Norway, where Equinor is operator, and embracing both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of carbon and methane. Furthermore, we want to increase the renewable energy capacity tenfold by 2026 and become a global leader in offshore wind. In November, we announced an ambition to become a net-zero energy company by 2050. The ambition comprises emissions from production and emissions and consumption of energy, what we also call Scope 3. This ambition sets a clear strategic direction for long-term value creation in line with the Paris Agreement. This will not be easy. But our almost 50-year history tells us that knowledge, the innovation capability and the drive have made us a global leader in our fields. We have successfully done what was considered impossible during our time, crossing the Norwegian trench, developing multi-phase technology, horizontal drilling, the Åsgard Subsea Gas Compression facility and floating offshore wind, just to mention a few accomplishments. We've had the ability of being proactive and at the forefront and have developed technology to overcome challenges and create industry and ripple effects. As a company, we have stayed relevant by creating huge opportunities and value for almost 50 years. We are to stay ambitious on behalf of ourselves and the company, when we look forward into the next decades with knowledge, curiosity and a collaborative approach, we will take new steps in industrial history. We will take a leading role in the green transition. The world is changing both at authorities, industries and consumers. There are other expectations to the form of strategy that we will consume. And the need for energy will also change over time. Therefore, it's all about positioning ourselves well for dealing with the future that will be different from where we are now. And we have, therefore, said that the next Annual General Meeting, we will present our plan for energy transition and how to reach climate targets set towards the carbon neutrality in 2050. We will continue to report on annual target achievements. And every third year after then, we will present an updated plan to the shareholders for an advisory vote. In order to stay relevant as a company in the future, we must continue to be competitive and innovative. We must have the capability of prioritizing commitment, capital and competence through the projects that can bring us there. We need to identify the right oil and gas projects as well as renewables projects. At our Capital Market Day in June, we will present an updated strategy. In addition, we will also present some of the steps in our climate program going forward and how we intend to develop the company to create value for our shareholders while at the same time, achieve our climate ambitions. We have also adjusted our organization in order to be able to deliver on these challenges. Let me leave you by saying the following: Safety is ours and my #1 priority. Everyone who works for Equinor must return from home safely. That's our responsibility. At this time last year, we feared what lay ahead. We fear the consequences that the pandemic might have for our employees, our operations and our performance and results. The pandemic has caused a lot of human suffering and impacted societies across the world. But I'm proud and impressed by our organization's hard work and how we've tackled the challenges that the COVID-19 virus have given us. I would, therefore, like to thank all employees for your hard work and commitment to the company every day. This has been a particularly demanding year for all in the face of it all, but I dare say that we have become a stronger company. We have positioned our well to ensure long-term value creations for becoming a leading company in the green transition for continuing to deliver energy to people and develop societies around us. In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude to the Board of Directors and not least, the Chair of the Board for a good, trusting collaboration. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you to both of you for your accounts. We will now move on to the shareholder proposals. And we remind you that any questions or comments from logged-on shareholders must be submitted into the Lumi AGM solution. This will be published in the course of and after all the shareholder proposals have been read out loud. Please note that we will not open up for questions and comments later to items 6, 7 and the shareholder proposals in items 8 through 17. For these items, there will only be voting on each item. It is also possible to vote on these items now. If you wish to support the proposal of the shareholder, you vote in favor of the proposal, whereas you should vote against the proposal, if you wish to follow the recommendation of the Board of Directors. We now move on to item 8, a proposal put forward by a shareholder. The proposal under item 8 was distributed with the Notice of the Meeting and is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read out loud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten of Equinor's Corporate Communication will read the presentation by the shareholder in English, and we will revert to any questions and comments regarding item 8 and the vote on this motion.

Chairman, Mr. Opedal, Directors and shareholders. Mr. Opedal, congratulations on your appointment on November 2 last year. Now that you stand at the helm of one of the world's largest oil majors, you are in a unique position in Norway and beyond. You are one of the few who can make or break the Paris Climate Agreement. The decisions you will make in your tenure will define how Equinor and the world will look like in a few decades from now. By that time, your grandchildren will realize what position their grandfather held and will surely ask, "What did you do about the climate crisis?" The first signs are promising. You have wasted no time. On your first day in office, you doubled Equinor's climate ambition by announcing the ambition to become a net-zero energy company by 2050 for all emissions. We welcome this new ambition. At the AGM of 2019, your predecessor neglected Equinor's Scope 3 responsibility and used it as an excuse to reject our climate resolution. In 2020, the Board rejected our resolution by assuring shareholders that having Equinor's carbon footprint was sufficient. We think the investors that supported these crucial steps by voting for our climate targets resolution in 2019 and 2020, Equinor's steps showed twice that a minority of responsible shareholders can drive change by voting for climate targets. This year, voting for our climate resolution is still necessary because the fight against climate change will not be won or lost in 2050, but in this decade. Rest assured, Mr. Opedal, shareholders will not hold you accountable in 2050 when we're both in our 80s, shareholders will hold you accountable this decade. In this decade, Equinor has no plans to substantially shift investments to substantially decrease emissions, nowhere near what is needed to realistically put the Paris goals within reach. According to the benchmark of the CA100+, Equinor has no Paris-consistent emission reduction targets and no Paris-consistent capital expenditure plans. Bluntly, your message to shareholder is, we know you expect us to act in the climate emergency, so we have promised to reduce emissions in the distant future while we implement new strategies that will not decrease emissions substantially in the next decade. More and more shareholders believe that the only concrete targets for all emissions will lead oil majors to the necessary shift in investments from fossil fuels to renewables. A growing body of investor opinion, ceased voting for climate resolutions as integral to their fiduciary responsibility. As the proxies have understood, investors are stewards of both their investee company's future and the world economy racked by climate breakdown. Today, the follow -- this climate resolution will come to a vote for the third time. For the third time, your Board advises shareholders to vote against the climate resolution. If Equinor's target where Paris-consistent, you shouldn't need to advise shareholders to vote against Paris-consistent targets. Therefore, we trust that responsible shareholders will vote for these climate targets to compel Equinor to advance its climate ambitions to Paris-consistent targets. To offer shareholders transparency and clarity about your climate ambition, we have 2 crucial questions. One, what reduction of net absolute emissions will Equinor achieve by 2030? Two, what percentage of Equinor's investment will be renewables and in fossil fuels in 2022 and 2023? Mr. Opedal, your shareholders and future generations count on you to take bold and brave decisions now. You have our support, [indiscernible].

Thank you. And we now move on to item 9, a proposal presented by 2 shareholders. The proposal under item 9 was distributed with the Notice of the Meeting and is being shown on the screen so it will not be read out loud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten of Equinor's Corporate Communication will read the presentation by the shareholder, and we will revert to any questions and comments regarding item 9 and the vote on the proposal.

Dear shareholders. Equinor shareholders must have full and detailed information of Equinor activities in order to fully understand the company's exposure to both -- to risks on both the climate and nature. Therefore, the shareholders, WWF and Greenpeace, request more transparency and better reporting in all projects, including marine and land-based oil, both domestically and abroad. While the Board of Directors of Equinor recommends shareholders to vote against our proposal, the Norwegian Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs requested better reporting from Equinor to enable investors to take risk and profitability into account more accurately and effectively. Both climate risk and nature risk are obvious elements to consider. Some Equinor projects abroad have received significant negative attention in the last year. This is not only for financial reasons. There are numerous examples of Equinor activities outside of Norway that negatively affect climate, environment and people. The confidence that Equinor operates in a safe and good manner is eroding steadily. We have contacts in all the countries where Equinor operates, and it is unpleasant to experience how Norway's reputation is damaged by the company's operations. For many people out there, for example, in Australia and Argentina, Equinor equals Norway. In the response to our proposal from the Board of Directors, it is indicated that the company already reports to the respective countries where they operate so there is no further need to collect this information. This is not in line with the shareholders' needs nor our expectations in regards to transparency from the company. Simply, this information should be made easily available to the shareholders. We also believe that the reporting requirements from some other countries may vary significantly from Norwegian standards. And this information could be useful for shareholders. It is long overdue for Equinor to give shareholders the information they need. We would like the company to report on every field and project to give clear information on how both their oil and gas activities as well as renewable activities affect both climate and nature. This should be reported alongside with what mitigation measures the company is implementing. Both professional investors and the government watchdog want better reporting to ensure shareholders' ability to make informed decisions about the company. In the notes from the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs dated the 4th of May 2021, the government watchdog asks for a clear expectation in regards to transparency in reporting from Equinor to ensure that both the public and investors are better placed to consider both risks in profitability in the company's activities abroad. They also expect the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to undertake their own considerations in regards to the same matters. Today, Equinor reports on environment and climate on an aggregated company level, similar to how they report on financial matters. Unfortunately, as we've seen lately, the devil is in the details. A couple of examples. The NOK 291 million that disappeared in Angola as well as the terrible back-end affair in the United States, which -- where the company has now recently sold out of was a significant loss. We hope that the company's shareholders will support item #9 on the agenda. It is a sound investment for the company to take sustainability seriously. We are in the middle of both a climate crisis and a nature crisis, and all companies, regardless of the sector must relate to and act on the fact that both of these crisis will have to be solved within a relatively few years . [indiscernible] . Thank you.

Thank you. This brings us to item 10, a proposal put forward by a shareholder. And the proposal under item 10 distributed with the Notice of the Meeting is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read aloud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten from Equinor's Corporate Communication will read out the supporting statement from the shareholder, and we'll revert to any questions and comments to item 10 and the vote on this motion.

The Grandparents Climate Campaign is an organization that is increasing its membership with many prominent former politicians and business people. We love our grandchildren, and we are strongly concerned about the future and to the world's children. We are happy that the Norwegian government has strengthened their climate targets in the Paris Agreement by cutting our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%, and up to 55% compared to 1990. But we can see that the policy with a continuous number of awards, some new oil licenses, even in the [indiscernible] can help us achieve the new climate targets. Equinor is the Norwegian people's oil company, Norwegian citizens currently own 67% of the shares, slightly more than 70%, including the National Insurance Fund shares. Our interest are to be protected by the Norwegian government and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. To me, as a shareholder, it seems like it is the interest of the oil industry that are being protected, not the citizens and future generations. The Grandparents Climate Campaign has therefore been involved through third-party intervention Nature and Youth and Greenpeace who have sued the Norwegian state for violation of Article 112 of the Norwegian constitutions on the right of the environment by allocating exploration licenses in the Arctic sea. Also, the IPCC makes it clear that our dependency on fossil energy sources has caused a deadly global warming that is gradually getting worse and that we're now facing both a climate crisis and a natural crisis. The Supreme Court's judgment of the 22nd December, 2020 did not sustain the plaintiff's claim, and we have, therefore, decided to appeal the case to the European Court of Human Rights. There's now a rapid development of new renewable energy sources. Equinor currently has the economic muscle to become a leader in this development, while phasing out fossil energy production. This will help create many new industrial jobs that Norway needs, both at Equinor and in the supply industry. Rather than stepping down the activity on the Norwegian continental shelf, Equinor is planning to electrify parts of the Norwegian oil production to reduce domestic climate emissions in compliance with the Paris Agreement. Equinor should help reduce emissions by stepping down the oil and exploration activity rather than using valuable renewable energy to reduce the emissions. The largest emissions are generated during the combustion of Norwegian oil and gas abroad. When also other countries are reducing their emissions, we're not guaranteed to find an economically profitable market for oil and gas in the decades to come. The Grandparents Climate Action react solely to Equinor's projects overseas. Overall, the company has not made any money on the hundreds of billions worth of Norwegian citizens' assets it has invested abroad. The investment in oil sands in Alberta, Canada caused huge pollution for the indigenous population and strongly affected the health and natural environment. We, therefore, believe that It is the probable that they are planning tracking in Patagonia. In 2019, Equinor lost NOK 200 billion on investments in shale oil and gas in the U.S., and Norway cannot accept being responsible for the huge pollution problems and the global warming these projects caused in other countries. Equinor should, therefore, present the phaseout plan for rapid termination of oil and gas production aimed to become a leading company in the development of new renewable energy.

Thank you. We are now to move to item 11, a proposal put forward by a shareholder. The proposal under Item 11 is -- was distributed with the notice as being shown on the screen so it will not be read aloud. Fredrik Jebsen Braten from Corporate Communication will read out the supporting statement, and we'll refer to any questions and comments to item 11 and the vote on this motion.

Equinor reported a regrettable record loss in 2020 with a net income after tax of negative $5.5 billion, equivalent to NOK 46 billion. The loss is, of course, impacted by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. But not just that, the company also sold its assets in the U.S. Bakken field, the shale gas, with a record loss in the same way as the company also divested its assets in the [indiscernible] project in Canada in earlier years at a big loss. We just have to admit that Equinor, as opposed to its profitable ventures on the Norwegian continental shelf, has had an exceptionally negative return on its business operations abroad. If we had invested the money in security fund instead of the operations overseas, we would have been NOK 900 billion richer. That is the equivalent of half Norwegian fiscal budget according to [ Professor Easton Nording ]. There have been plenty of warnings against the unclear ventures abroad in recent years from some of our shareholders. But unfortunately, all in vain. In addition, the company is struggling restoring reputation after corruption scandals both in Iran and Angola. It is therefore extra disappointing learn that the Board of Directors, in spite of the company's big losses and other negative experience from operations abroad, still is all in favor of extending the oil business with big investments another new country, in a different part of the world. In addition, the investment is not made in the company's core activity offshore. But again, is a risky venture onshore this time in oil shale in Argentina. Large-scale oil production here will, in addition, reduce Argentina's possibilities to comply with the Paris Agreement. Equinor's new focus abroad on large offshore wind projects may also involve a certain risk. But the company's oil and gas production from fossil sources is not sustainable, neither for the company, nor for future generations. As a responsible energy company, Equinor must change course and secure the company's future and shareholder value. Increased focus on renewable energy must not come in addition to but replace oil and gas.

Thank you. We will now move on to item 12, the proposal presented by shareholders. The proposal under item 12 was distributed with the Notice of the Meeting and is being shown on the screen so it will not be read out loud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten of Equinor's Corporate Communication will read the presentation by the shareholder, and we will revert to any comments regarding item 12 and the vote on this proposal.

We are a group of concerned Equinor shareholders. In the last few Annual General Meetings, we have proposed various shareholder resolutions to change the strategic direction of Equinor from a predominantly pure play oil and gas exploration and production company with a large carbon footprint with heavy financial losses outside Norway to a company that credibly participates in the transition towards a more sustainable world. By doing so, Equinor would become an attractive ESG possibility. Our past proposed resolutions have consistently been opposed by the Board of Directors and the Norwegian government's representative and thereby voted down by the Annual General Meeting. We have reason to believe that if the 2 new resolutions below were passed in the 2021 AGM, Equinor's shareholder value as well as the value stakeholders would increase substantially. Further, Equinor's project and environmental exposures would be reduced significantly and the profitability and reputation of the company greatly enhanced. There are 2 reasons for our suggestion to stop oil and gas exploration in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea: A, an estimated oil price of more than $80 a barrel is required to make the projects profitable in this challenging region. It's, therefore, possible that Equinor could experience significant financial losses in the Barents Sea, especially if the fields need to be electrified; B, if a major accident or oil or gas leakage should happen in this fragile and hostile region, the reputational, environmental and financial consequences for Equinor would be enormous. As stated, by the WWF, the highly biodiverse Barents Sea is "one of Europe's last large clean and relatively undisturbed marine ecosystems." A recent national poll shows that a majority of the Norwegian population wants to reduce oil and gas exploration and production. So production in the Barents Sea goes against the majority of the population's opinion. There have been intense debates in Norway on how far north in the Barents Sea the Norwegian government should open up for exploration and production of oil and gas. The Arctic ice edge in the Barents Sea fluctuates from year-to-year. Scientists have determined that in the edge between the ice and open sea, there exists a very active but fragile biodiversity that must be protected. Oil and gas exploration industry moving further into the Arctic winter ice is considered exceedingly expensive and associated with high environmental risk. When the Norwegian Parliament approved the first permits in this region back in 2015, production cost estimates by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy were not disclosed to the parliament, but later became known creating a political scandal. These cost estimates showed that an average oil price of $84 a barrel is required to make projects in this region profitable. In addition, electrification of these offshore production units needed to meet Norway's CO2 emission reduction commitments by 2030, be very expensive and need to be included in the cost of the oil and gas production. The electrification of the production rigs should be paid by the oil companies and not by the Norwegian state as the oil companies expect. Further, governmental reports have pointed out that the emergency response capacity for this region is totally insufficient. The government has issued 147 oil and gas exploration and production licenses to companies in this fragile region. According to government records, Equinor has -- currently has 7 production permits and 29 exploration permits with partners in the Barents Sea. Qualification of the 7 platforms would require more than 600 megawatts of added capacity from Finnmark supplied from added onshore wind power, expansion of the Norwegian north-south grid capacity and power importation from Sweden and Finland. Therefore, There is a strong reason to believe that the additional cost of electrification will make future production of oil and gas in the Barents Sea even more unprofitable. We are, therefore, of the opinion that Equinor should refrain from further exploration activities in the Barents Sea. Equinor has -- currently has approximately 10 years of proven and estimated oil and gas research in the ice-free Norwegian continental shelf South of the Barents Sea.

Thank you. We now continue to item 13, a proposal presented and distributed with the Notice of the Meeting. It's shown on the screen, so it will not be read out loud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten of Equinor's Corporate Communications department will read the presentation, and we will revert to any questions and comments regarding item 13 in the vote of this proposal.

Currently, Equinor's renewable energy investments constitute only 4% of its annual investments, while 96% are used for oil and gas investments. By spinning out the renewable energy business into a newco, the focus on its renewable energy business would be greatly enhanced. As a result, shareholder and stakeholder value would, in all probability, increase dramatically. As it did when the Danish oil and gas company, Dong, spun out their wind power business part into a new company called Orsted. Equinor's spinout company could be an attractive environmentally sound and sustainable investment opportunity with a strong ESG profile. Newco would have potential to significantly increase its share price unhindered by the share price development of the remaining oil and gas company. Meanwhile, Equinor's share price is likely to follow the international downward trends in this sunset business industry. Back in 2006, the Danish government decided to split their fossil energy company, Dong, into an oil and gas company and a renewable energy company called Orsted. Orsted's share price was DKK 252 in June of 2016 and DKK 1,171 in January of 2021. In other words, a 370% increase over 4.5 years. Recently, the Danish government sold off the remaining oil and gas business of Dong to a private company. Equinor's share price in February 2016 was NOK 114 and in February 2021, NOK 158. In other words, only a 38% increase over 5 years. However, the share price 10 years ago is about the same as it is now at about NOK 140. We believe that with complete focus on renewable energy, the share price of the spin-off newco will increase significantly based on its growth and profitability potential with a greatly reduced business and environmental risk profile. The conclusions for the proposals 12 and 13. If these 2 shareholder resolutions are approved, we believe that the value of the shareholders' investments in Equinor will be greatly enhanced and will send a strong message to the majority owner, the Norwegian government, that Equinor needs to transition into a more sustainable business. Further, this will signal that Equinor is taking significant steps towards creating much higher ESG value for all stakeholders. It should be noted that the current Board of Directors and the Norwegian Financial Inspectorate have been very inactive in overseeing Equinor's international business development, resulting in enormous losses to the company. To date, Equinor has lost $25 billion in the United States. In addition, Equinor needs to develop specific plans for Scope 3 emissions reductions and how to become carbon net-zero by 2050, according to the Paris Agreement. National fund management companies constitute a significant group of investors in Equinor and own together about 10% of the shares. We have communicated our concerns with 13 of these companies and asked for their support in getting these resolutions passed. Also ask for support from our foreign Norwegian asset managers that hold shares in Equinor. All of these fund managers are increasingly driving changes in their portfolio of companies according to ESG principles. We, the undersigned, are all members of BKA, a nationwide association of Grandparents concerned about the living conditions for future generations and part of the network, International Concerned Grandparents. On behalf of us BKA members, sincerely, [ Evan Bakker ].

Thank you. We will now move to item 14, a proposal put forward by a shareholder. The proposal under item 14 was distributed with the notice and is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read aloud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten from Equinor's Corporate Communication will read out the supporting statement from the shareholder, and then we'll revert to any questions and comments to item 14 and the vote on this motion.

The proposal under item 14 primarily target the owners of the company, not the executive management. Since the Norwegian state owns 70% in the company and thus have decisive authority, this proposal primarily go to the state. This state's primary task is to ensure that Norwegian citizens can live safely in the country with good welfare services. The required funding should wholly be raised through direct and indirect taxes, not through risky business operations. There may be good reasons why the state, primarily for a limited amount of time, is the main owner or co-own in Norwegian enterprises. But there is no such reasons for such activities abroad, particularly when the activities may entail large investments with high risk. We assume that the state represented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. And as Minister have discussed this proposal, possibly, they may also have discussed it with Equinor's corporate management. We can see that for the response to the proposal. It would be very natural for the state to give a direct comment to this proposal, and we hereby ask the state's representatives at the AGM to do so, [ Evan Setter ].

Thank you. We will continue and move to Item 15, which is a shareholder proposal. The proposal under item 15 was distributed with the Notice of the Meeting, is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read aloud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten from Equinor's Corporate Communication will read out the supporting statement from the shareholder, and we'll revert to any questions and comments to item 15 and the vote on this motion.

Headlines about fluctuating or downturn earnings for Equinor make an impression on the company's shareholders. According to Statistics Norway, the state revenues from oil in 2020 were the lowest since 1999, and more than half from the year before. Norway's carbon emissions were somewhat reduced in 2020, mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction, however, is too slow due to Equinor's corporate policy. It's about the company's EGS profile, namely environmental, governance and social profile. As a medical doctor, you have an ethical obligation to raise the alert when there is a great threat to public health. According to the world's most prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, global warming is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century, and the climate crisis is a health crisis. As an Equinor shareholder, a Norwegian citizen and a representative of the doctor's climate campaign, I invite the Annual General Meeting, the majority shareholder to vote for the shareholder proposal. And signed by Doctors Climate Campaign, [indiscernible].

Thank you. We move to item 16. The proposal under Item 16 was distributed with the Notice of meeting and will not be read out loud. Fredrik Jebsen Bråten of Equinor's Communication will read the presentation by the shareholder, and we will revert to any questions and comments regarding item 16 on the vote on this proposal.

We are almost 100,000 shareholders who are more sensitive, self-critical and solution-oriented response and have demanded updated information like the main owner, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The internal PwC review was done only after thorough revelations in the media on uncontrolled spending and a lack of transparency in the company. The response of the company does not answer to the requirements of the audit's assessment of improved quality assurance and internal control in Equinor and aspects of the Angola operations. Robust capital discipline is not achieved through enormous losses in the United States, large transgressions in the Njord field, the Martin Linge field and on the production vessel, Johan Castberg. Still, the alternating practice shows for Q1 this year alone somewhat better results, mostly due to higher oil prices and farm down of assets. Equinor claims that secure operations is the highest priority in the current company culture, why then have public inspectorates and representatives for a long time pointed out illegal oil emissions, deficient maintenance expertise, training, manning, cost cuts, management failure and HFC risk management? CEO, Anders Opedal, admitted in the newspaper DN on the 30th of April, that cost cuts may weaken safety. The Minister of Petroleum has demanded that such incidents would be avoided. The annual report also shows still great security deviations in internal financial IT systems. Equinor needs to do better quality assurance for optimal financial management, improve its challenges in terms of preparedness. Thereby, it is incomprehensible to us that the Board of Equinor still rejects the requested audit both this year and last year for direct targeted action points to avoid deficits and achieve better capital discipline with greater sustainable earnings. Nobody is served by the weakening of the company's trust and reputation, something which in turn can impact on the financial development and thereby, the shareholders' returns over time. [Foreign Language]

Thank you. And we then proceed to item 17, which is also presented by a shareholder. The proposal was distributed with the notice of the meeting and is shown on the screen, so it will not be read out loud. We have now had a lot of submissions both from the company and from shareholders, and we will take a break of 5 minutes and we will be back at 5:45. [Break]

Thank you. We are now back. We've received many comments and questions to debate on the items up to and including 17. The questions have been posted and are visible to all shareholders, and we will not read them out in full. The questions are related to Equinor's strategy, the Board of Directors' assessment of the proposal from shareholders and negative financial result for 2020, the results of the international activities and the sale of operations abroad, and also CapEx discipline and control and safety and also the hydrogen ventures. I would like to point out that pursuant to Section 5/15 of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act, the Annual General Meeting is not a natural forum for putting questions to or ask for comments from other shareholders, including from the state represented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. I will now give floor to Jon Erik Reinhardsen, the Chair of the Board to answer questions and summarize the debate from items 6 through to 17.

Well, first, I would like to thank you for your active participation at the Annual General Meeting. The topics that have been addressed are important to the company. And we've received several questions and comments related to the items 6 and 7 and the various shareholder presentations. Both Mr. Opedal and I addressed in our presentations a number of these topics, among other things, safety, strategy, results and internal control dividend, climate risk and the Board's response to the incoming proposals. And therefore, I will respond with some overall reflections on climate and transition. In 2020, we experienced a dramatic drop in oil demand due to COVID-19. And with a subsequent drop in oil prices, this naturally affects the company's earnings and led to reductions. And at the same time, this was the same for the whole industry. Nothing was specific for Equinor. On the contrary, the company was able to take action to solidify its operations, and we can see the positive consequences of this today, not the least in Q1. Climate has been a central theme in submitted proposals and the presentations and comments received at the meeting today. And Equinor has as its ambition to be a leading company in the energy transition, and we will become this through developing a clear strategy and follow it up with action. In the course of 2020, Equinor announced, as I counted for in my presentation, an extensive set of climate ambitions. Among the most important ones are a continued reduction in our own emissions from oil and gas production, with the ambition to have carbon-neutral global operations by 2030; and the reduction of our absolute emissions in Norway by at least 40% by 2030 and close to 0 in 2050; net zero emissions by 2050 in Category 1, 2 and 3 emissions; and seeing profitable growth within renewable energy and the development of low-carbon solutions. So there's been a question of investments. 60% of the committed investments in 2020 were within renewables and low-carbon solutions. In a few weeks, we will hold our Capital Markets Day at which we will present an updated strategy. This will include further details about direction and velocity of the transition the company is facing. We have announced that at the next year's Annual General Meeting, we will present an energy transition plan for advisory vote. And this plan will be updated every third year and will be reported on an annual basis. We -- today, we also announced that starting next year, we will share information about CO2 emissions from individual fields. We will still have the dialogue with shareholders, special interest organizations, politicians and social actors on the common challenge that we have. And for other comments to [ participations ] and shareholder proposals, I make reference as said by the CEO and myself at the opening of the debate. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Jon Erik. And now we draw the line for questions and comments to items 6 and 7 and the shareholder proposals 8 through 17. And then that brings us back to item 6 and the approval of the annual accounts and the directors' report for 2020. And state-authorized public accountant, Erik Mamelund, of EY will now read excerpts from the auditor's report for 2020. And Mr. Mamelund is participating via webcast from Fornebu. Here you go.

Thank you. Dear general meeting, we make reference to our auditor's report given on the 14th of March 2021, which is included in its entirety in the company's annual report on Page 257. We have revised the annual accounts for Equinor ASA, continuing -- the financial statements comprise the balance sheet and the comprehensive income, changes in -- and it's another information of the balances of the 31st and the listing of changes to capital for the accounting year ended at that date and the description of the significant applied principles and other notes principles. Financial aspects in the audits for 2020, recoverable amounts of production plans for this, including commissions and estimated shutdown and removal business and significant weaknesses in internal control -- and in our opinion, the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the law and regulations. The financial statements present fairly, in all material, respects the financial position of the parent company as at 31st December 2020, and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with the Norwegian Accounting Act and accounting standards and practices generally accepted in Norway. The consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material, respects the financial position of the group as of 31st December 2020, and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with international financial reporting standards as adopted by the EU. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Mr. Mamelund. And as the chair of the corporate assembly, I will now read the statement on the Board of Directors proposal. At its meeting 18th of March 2021, the corporate assembly reviewed the financial statements and the Directors' report for 2020 for Equinor ASA and the Equinor Group and the Board's proposal for the allocation of the annual income. The corporate assembly supports the Board's proposal for the annual accounts and the allocation of the net income. The general meeting is encouraged to adopt the Board's proposal for the annual accounts for 2020 for Equinor ASA and for the Equinor Group as well as the Directors' report and the distribution of the proposed dividend for Q4 2020. The payment of the dividend is expected on the 27th of May 2021. If you have not yet voted on item 6, please do so now as the items will be closed as we go. We will now close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. We will now move to the vote on item 7, authorization to distribute dividend based on approved annual accounts 2020. Please note that the vote will soon be closed. I also point out that we have dealt with questions and comments to this item. The proposed resolutions will -- was distributed with a notice and is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read aloud. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. We now move to item 8, namely a proposal -- the proposal put forward and is being shown on the screen. If you wish to support the shareholder's proposal, you vote for the proposal. You vote against the proposal if you were to follow the Board's recommendation. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the majority of the votes cast are against the proposal, and the resolution is thus not adopted. Next, we move to item 9 and the proposal put forward by shareholders being shown on the screen. If you wish to support the shareholder's proposal, you vote for the proposal. You vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the Board's recommendation. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the majority of the votes cast are against the proposal, and the resolution is thus not adopted. We now move on to item 10, and the proposal put forward is being shown on the screen, will not be read aloud. If you wish to support the shareholder's proposal, you vote for the proposal. You vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the Board's recommendation. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the majority of the votes cast are against the proposal, and the resolution is not adopted. We now move on to item 11, and the presented proposal is shown on the screen. If you wish to support the proposal of the shareholder, vote in favor of the proposal, whereas you should vote against the proposal, if you wish to follow the recommendations of the Board. We will now close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a minority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus not adopted. We move on to item 12, and the presented proposal is shown on the screen. If you wish to support the proposal of the shareholder, vote in favor of the proposal, whereas you vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the recommendation of the Board. We will now close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a minority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus not adopted. We now proceed to item 13, and the presented proposal is shown on the screen. If you wish to support the proposal of the shareholders, you should vote in favor of the proposal, whereas you should vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the recommendation of the Board. We will now close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a minority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus not adopted. We now proceed to item 14. The presented proposal is shown on the screen. If you wish to support the proposal of the shareholder, you vote in favor of the proposal, whereas you should vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the recommendation of the Board. We will now close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a minority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus not adopted. We now move on to item 15 and the proposal forwarded by a shareholder, and the proposal's being shown on the screen. If you wish to support the shareholder's proposal, you vote for the proposal. You vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the Board's recommendation. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the majority of the votes cast are against the proposal, and the resolution is thus not adopted. We move to item 16, and the proposal put forward is being shown on the screen. If you wish to support the shareholders' proposal, you vote for the proposal. You vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the Board's recommendation. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the majority of the votes cast are against the proposal, and the resolution is thus not adopted. This brings us to Item 17, and that's the shareholders' proposal and the proposal put forward is being shown on the screen and will not be read aloud. If you wish to support the shareholder's proposal, you vote for the proposal. You vote against the proposal if you wish to follow the Board's recommendation. The vote is now being closed. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the majority of the votes cast are against the proposal and the resolution is thus not adopted. The results of the votes on shareholders' proposals will, as for the other votes conducted, be attached to the minutes, which will be posted on the company's website shortly after the general meeting. We now move on to item 18, which is the Board's statement on corporate governance. Keep in mind that the voting will be closed once the item has been heard. Pursuant to Section 5-6 fifth of section of the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act, the AGM shall review and consider the Board's statement on corporate governance, submitted in compliance with Section 3-3b of the Norwegian Accounting Act. The statement for 2020 is included in chapter 3 in Equinor's annual report, which has been made available on Equinor's website prior to the AGM. We have prepared for the general meeting to take a consultative vote on the statement on corporate governance. And the Board has proposed that the general meeting endures the statement. Reference is made to the comments of the Chair of the Board to the account given earlier in today's Annual General Meeting. No questions or comments have been submitted, and we therefore close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that there is a majority vote in favor, so it is adopted that the general meeting endorses the statement of the Board. We will now deal with the Board of Directors' remuneration policy on determination of salary and other remuneration for executive personnel and other remuneration. Please note that the vote will be closed as soon as we have dealt with this matter. In accordance with Section 6-16a of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act, the Board shall prepare a remuneration policy on determination of salary and other remuneration for executive personnel. This policy concerning the corporate Executive Committee is included in Equinor ASA's Annual Report Chapter 3.12 and note 4 in Equinor's financial statements available at the company's website prior to the AGM. The policy also includes remuneration to our employees who are members of Board and the corporate assembly, as described in Equinor's annual report Chapter 3.11. In accordance with Section 6-16b of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act, the Board shall prepare a remuneration report for the Corporate Executive Committee. This report is included in Equinor's ASA's annual report Chapter 3.12 and note 4 in Equinor's financial statements available at the company's website prior to the Annual General Meeting. I'll now give the floor to Chair of the Board, Jon Erik Reinhardsen, who will report on the Board's policy and remuneration report.

Thank you, Tone. Through the Board's remuneration policy and report on determination of salary and other remuneration for executive personnel, the Board has presented a report on the company's remuneration policy, the formal decision-making process and the overall remuneration concept for the corporate Executive Committee. Equinor's remuneration policy and terms are firmly aligned with the company's overall value, people policy and performance-oriented framework. The rewards and recognition of executives are designed to attract and retain the right people. The Board emphasizes the importance of offering executive compensation that is competitive but not market-leading in the markets in which we operate. The remuneration policy and principles executed in 2020 were mainly in accordance with the declaration given to the AGM last year. In accordance with new provisions in Section 6-16a of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act, the Board has prepared a remuneration policy on salary and the other remuneration for executive personnel. Provided they are adopted, the policy will apply for 4 years with less need for material changes that require a new decision by the general meeting. The policy is in alignment with the new rules, but also generally in accordance with the principles applied by the company over time and as presented in previous year's statement on executive remuneration. This connection and for the sake of good order, I'd like to mention that the Board of Directors noted that the Norwegian state on 30th April of this year published a new set of state guidelines for executive remuneration and companies with state ownership and that the state presumes that they be followed up in the company's policy or guidelines presented to the Annual General Meeting in 2022. The CEO's terms, there was no general salary increase for the former and current CEO's that is Sætre and Opedal in 2020. Opedal's base salary upon appointment in November was fixed at NOK 9.1 million. The CEO has a variable performance-based pay with a potential of 50% of total base salary and a long-term incentive scheme with a share purchase of up to 30% of fixed pay. At the request of the Corporate Executive Committee, the Board decided not to pay annual bonuses for the Corporate Executive Committee for the performance year 2020. Even though no annual bonuses were paid, I would still like to attach some comments to the developments in 2020. In its assessment of the CEO's performance for 2020, the Board has emphasized that the deliveries in key areas have been above at and below charges. The results have been delivered in an extraordinary year, significantly impacted by the pandemic, high market volatility and low commodity prices. Even though the total recordable injuries frequency, while slightly behind target, is at the best level in the company's history. The total serious incident frequency has also improved compared to 2019 but was behind the target. 2020 saw also serious incidents with fires at Melkøya and Shell Bergen in addition to the incident with considerable seepage of oily water to the ground at the Mongstad refinery. This underlines the need for further strengthening safety performance. The carbon intensity for the upstream portfolio improved compared to '19, a result better than the set target for 2020. A positive trend has also been observed compared to the '19 -- to the 2019 results on both the diversity and inclusion indexes. CapEx has been further reduced due to projects being postponed in order to maintain financial robustness. Value creation from exploration had a positive development in 2020 and ended above target. Production efficiency is below target due to unplanned shutdowns, government-imposed oil production curtailments and operational challenges. The unit production cost for 2020 is better than the target, reaching the 2021 target 1 year ahead of time. Total relative shareholder return was above the target of being better than average in the peer group. As for the relative return on average capital employed, ROCE, it ended just below the target set for 2020. And finally, the remuneration systems for executives are designed to ensure that we attract and retain people who are strongly [ eager ] to deliver on the company's business strategy and who are able to adapt to changing business environment. As a [ company ] and our industry were very severely impacted by a pandemic and the sharply falling prices, I'd like to particularly highlight 2 important instruments in our remuneration framework. The threshold ensures that bonuses are reduced or not paid if the company's overall financial position makes this appropriate. The modifier ensures that any bonus payments are clearly linked to Equinor's relative performance compared to 11 other peer companies. The Board considers that the company's remuneration systems and practices are transparent and that any deviations are explained in accordance with applicable guidelines and good business practices. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you. I believe -- well, we have received one question that we have responded. But in accordance with Section 5-6 third paragraph of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act with reference to Section 6-16a fifth paragraph, the Board's remuneration policies for salary for executive personnel is subject to approval by the general meeting at every material change, and in any case, at least every 4 years. In accordance with Section 5-6 fourth paragraph of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act with reference to Section 6-16b second paragraph, an advisory vote shall be held for the Board's remuneration report for salary to executive personnel. The Board recommends that the general meeting by a binding vote approves the remuneration policy and by an advisory vote endorses the Board of Directors' remuneration report. I will read out one question that we have received for item 19. And Anders Opedal will respond to it. The question is, how can you allow that members of the Corporate Executive Committee also have offices of our members of the Board that requires an effort in other companies when they should be devoting all the effort to Equinor?

Thank you. I believe that everyone who report to me and all members of my team deliver on the target sector for our activities. We also want all members to develop their leadership experience and develop their expertise. This is done both when it comes to internal development goal set, but some executive members may also be allowed to be members of external Boards. This means that they gain experience from other industries and also other business culture that they can take back to Equinor. But we will assess this on a case-by-case business.

Thank you, Anders. I can't see that we have received any other questions or comments to item 19. Thank you. We are now closing the vote. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposed resolution was adopted by a majority of the votes cast and that the general meeting approved the Board's remuneration policy for determination of salary and other remuneration for executive personnel that is item 9 1 -- 19.1 and has endorsed the Board of Directors' remuneration report item 19.2. All right. So you're saying that now we have a separate vote on 19.2. I see. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that there is a majority in favor of the proposal and that the general meeting has approved the Board's guidelines for the determination of remuneration in item 19.2. So now we have reached item 20, approval of the remuneration for the company's external auditor for 2020. Please keep in mind that the voting will be closed once the item has been heard. The general meeting is asked to approve the auditing fees for audits in 2020 for Equinor ASA of NOK 51,235,147. No questions or comments appear to have been submitted, and we therefore close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. Then we will move on to item 21, the stipulation of remuneration to the corporate assembly. Please keep in mind that voting will be closed once the item has been heard. The proposal has been made available in the notice to the AGM as shown on the screen and will not be read out loud. As Chair of the nomination committee, I can inform you that the propose to increasing remuneration is on par with the general wage development in society. Are there other proposals from the shareholders? No other proposals or comments have been submitted, and we therefore close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. And then we will move on to item 22, the stipulation of remuneration to the nomination committee. Please keep in mind that the voting will be closed once the item has been heard. Also has been made available in the notice to the Annual General Meeting as shown on the screen and will not be read out loud. As Chair of the Nomination Committee, I can inform you that the Nomination Committee has proposed changes to the remuneration to the members of the Nomination Committee. And again, this proposed increase in remuneration is on par with the general wage development in society. Are there other proposals from the shareholders? No proposal or comments have been submitted, and we therefore close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received a majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. We now move to item 23. And please note that the vote will close once we have dealt with the item. Since 2004, the company has offered a share savings plan for employees in the group. The purpose of this plan is to augment good business culture and encourage loyalty through employees becoming part-owners of the company. Globally, approximately 81% of the employees participate in the share savings plan. At the Annual General Meeting in 2020, it was decided to authorize the Board of Directors to acquire shares in the market for this purpose. This authorization expires on the date of the Annual General Meeting in 2021. It is proposed that the AGM gives the Board of directors a new authorization to require shares in the market in order to continue the company's share savings plan. The proposed resolution was distributed with the notice of the meeting and is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read aloud. We have not received any questions or comments, and we are therefore closing the vote now. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that the proposal has received the majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. We now move To item 24, which concerns an authorization to acquire Equinor shares in the market for subsequent annulment. Remember that a vote on this item will close when we have dealt with it. The Board requests authorization from the Annual General Meeting to repurchase up to 75 million own shares in the market. That is approximately 2.3% of the company's share capital. In accordance with Section 9-4 of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act. Such authorization is common in many listed companies. The repurchase of own shares benefit shareholders by the remaining shares representing increased ownership interest in the company. For a detailed explanation of the background for the proposal, see the notice. The proposed solution has also been distributed with the notice and is being shown on the screen, so it will not be read aloud. We received one question regarding this matter, and I will read it out. And the question goes, why should Equinor use a lot of money to repurchase shares when they report negative net incomes with heavy CapEx and renewables require heavy investments? Chair, can you answer?

As we have said in our notice, we do not invite you to actually vote on this. You -- it is all about authorizing the company, as we have also done at other AGMs. This could be a means for capital redistribution and also ensure appropriate capital structure. We also refer to the grounds given in the notice of the Annual General Meeting.

Thank you, Jon Erik. We have not received any other questions or comments, and we hereby close the voting. [Voting]

DNB has now confirmed that this proposal has received a majority of the votes cast, and the resolution is thus adopted. All right. We have now dealt with all the items on the agenda. And shortly, the minutes of the general meeting will be published on the company's website. We want to thank you for your engagement regarding today's general meeting, and thank you to all shareholders who have attended the first fully digital Annual General Meeting. The meeting is adjourned. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]