Equinor, the Norwegian oil and gas giant, has entered the lithium market, in a strategic move aimed at mitigating the effects of oil and gas price fluctuations and hedging the energy future.

This step is crucial in light of the increasing importance of lithium as an essential metal in the manufacture of electric car batteries, which is the focus of the transition towards clean energy.

The lithium market faces sharp fluctuations in 2023; It witnessed a significant decline in prices due to the glut in supply, before showing signs of recovery recently.

Despite these fluctuations, Equinor sees lithium as a promising opportunity for sustainable growth, drawing on its extensive experience in the oil and gas sectors.

This vision is embodied in the new partnership agreement concluded by Equinor with Standard Lithium, which is considered a pioneer in the field of commercial lithium development.

This agreement aims to acquire a 45% stake in two lithium mining projects in southwest Arkansas and east Texas in the United States of America.

These projects are important because they rely on direct extraction techniques with a lower environmental footprint. This reinforces Equinor's commitment to environmental responsibility.

Under the agreement, Equinor will provide $30 million to Standard Lithium as compensation for the net stake costs, and bear its capital expenditure of $33 million.

Equinor will also commit to paying an additional $70 million once it makes a final decision to invest in the two projects. This agreement confirms Equinor's commitment to developing lithium projects sustainably, and strengthens its position as a major player in the energy transition.

Vice President of New Business and Investments in Technology, Digitization and Innovation at Equinor, Morten Halleracker, said that the company sees lithium as a “catalyst” in energy transition efforts, and that it “believes in the potential for it to become an attractive business,” noting that this partnership with Standard Lithium It is an important step towards achieving this vision. It allows Equinor to benefit from Standard Lithium's expertise in direct lithium extraction technologies.

For his part, Standard Lithium's Director of Operations, Andy Robinson, stressed the importance of this partnership, noting that it "demonstrates the quality of our team, our data flow chart, our experience in direct lithium extraction techniques, and the world-class brine lithium resources in Arkansas and Texas."

Robinson described this stage as “pivotal” in the growth of Standard Lithium’s business, stressing that the partnership with Equinor will be “key to continuing to de-risk and deliver these important projects.”

For his part, Standard Lithium CEO, Robert Mintak, expressed his happiness with this cooperation, noting that “achieving success in this sector depends on strategic partnerships with entities that share our vision and bring us complementary strengths.”

He explained, "Equinor's culture and values are consistent with our own in using innovation, integrity and responsible development to enable the global energy transition."