Equinor to focus 'more than ever' on value over volume in Norwegian gas: CFO

London — Norway's state-controlled Equinor is to focus "more than ever" on its value over volume Norwegian gas production strategy and plans to push output from this year into 2021 and beyond when European gas prices are higher, CFO Lars Christian Bacher said Thursday.

Under its long-standing value over volume strategy, Equinor can defer Norwegian gas production from its flexible fields -- Troll and Oseberg -- at times of low prices as it looks to benefit from higher prices later.

With European gas prices having slumped to record lows in 2020, Equinor already deferred some Norwegian gas output in the first quarter, and will continue to use that flexibility through 2020.

"In the current environment, we are perhaps even more than ever focusing on value over volume," Bacher told analysts on a conference call following the Q1 results announcement.

"We are pushing some gas from 2020 to 2021 and, in some cases, beyond," Bacher said. "That has to do with the market conditions and prices we see further out in time."

Bacher reiterated that Equinor is able to supply Norwegian gas to Europe at a delivered cost of "well below $2/MMBtu" making it competitive with other suppliers.

However, with the NBP and TTF day-ahead gas prices trading currently at $1.71/MMBtu and $1.73/MMBtu, respectively, according to S&P Global Platts price assessments, there is pressure on the cost of Norwegian delivery.

But Bacher said it was important not to be fixated on short-term prices.

"We are trying to maximize the results -- short, medium and long term. And in many ways, you could also argue that in the current situation, it's even more important to make the right, long-term decisions," Bacher said.

"So this is not about the prices of today or the dividend of tomorrow. This is actually about the longevity of this downturn and to make sure that we are strong coming out of this," he said.

In Q1, Equinor's equity gas production in Norway was down by 6% year on year to 745,000 b/d of oil equivalent.

"The flexibility in the gas fields was used to defer production into periods with higher expected gas prices," the company said in its earnings report.

It added that the deferral of production "to create future value" would be a key factor in determining its output level over the remainder of the year.