Equinor is ending its offshore wind business activities in Japan and will close its Tokyo office by the end of the year as the Norwegian energy major is realigning its non-oil and gas strategy to focus on power markets.
“This decision reflects a reassessment of Equinor’s strategic direction, with a strengthened focus on integrated power markets,” the Norwegian company said on Friday.
While Equinor is ending its Japanese presence, Japan will remain an important country for Equinor, which will continue to invest in its longstanding relationships with Japanese companies in technology development, commodities, capital markets, and across the supply chain, said the Norwegian firm.
Equinor, which had big offshore wind ambitions more at the end of the 2010s, entered the Japanese offshore wind market in 2018. In 2020, Equinor teamed up with local firms Jera and J-Power to jointly bid in Japan’s offshore wind auctions.
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However, Equinor has failed to win any leases in Japan’s auctions to date, while the Japanese offshore wind industry suffered a heavy blow last year after Mitsubishi Corporation dropped plans to develop three offshore wind projects amid unexpected changes and rising challenges in the market.
Since Mitsubishi was selected as the operator of the projects in December 2021, the business environment for offshore wind power “has significantly changed worldwide due to factors such as tight supply chains, inflation, exchange rates, and rising interest rates,” the Japanese firm said last summer.
Equinor, for its part, is active in the offshore wind markets in the UK, Poland, and Norway, after withdrawing from several other markets including Spain, Portugal, and France.
At the Capital Markets Day 2026 earlier this month, Equinor said it is concentrating its power growth ambitions in selected markets and segments, where integration with a broader energy offering is achievable.
Building a competitive integrated power business is a key pillar of Equinor’s latest strategy, alongside maximizing production of oil and gas offshore Norway, growing its international oil and gas business, and creating additional value through trading and market optimization.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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