The name Equinor was adopted in 2018 and is formed by combining equi, the root for words such as equity, equality, and equilibrium, and nor, indicating that the company is of Norwegian origin.

Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap A/S was founded as a limited company owned by the Government of Norway on 14 July 1972 by a unanimous act passed by the Norwegian parliament Stortinget.

[10] In September 2007, Statoil and the Brazilian oil company Petrobras signed a deal aimed at expanding exploration, sub-sea, and biofuels cooperation.

(In 2012, Statoil had 4 oil sand licences (oljesandlisensene ) as part of the Kai Kos Deh Seh project: Leismer, Corner, Hangingstone, and Thornberry).

[14] In 1965, Hydro joined Elf Aquitaine and six other French companies to form Petronord to perform searches for oil and gas in the North Sea.

[18] Jens Stoltenberg, the then Norwegian Prime Minister, commented that he viewed the merger as "the start of a new era...creating a global energy company and strengthening Norway's oil and gas industry.

"[19] It has been noted within the analyst community that a proposal will create an entity with much more competitive strength versus its much larger European rivals, including BP, Total, and Shell, while also increasing the ability of the company to make strategic acquisitions, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico.

[26] On 24 May 2010, Statoil sold a 40% stake in the Peregrino field to Sinochem, the Chinese state-controlled oil company, for a cash sum of $3.07 billion, but retained 60% and the operatorship.

[30][31][32] In 2011, Statoil bought Brigham Exploration for $4.4 billion to gain access to its oil shale operations in North Dakota's Bakken formation.

Petrofrontier's Georgina Basin shale oil and gas bearing structures consistent with other producing areas in Australia and North America.

[49] In February 2024, Equinor and Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals Corporation limited (DFPCL) entered into a 15-year agreement to supply natural gas liquids annually from 2026.

[59] In February 2021, Equinor completed the sale of its shale assets in the Bakken formation of North Dakota to Grayson Mill Energy for $900 million.

[60][53] That month, a spokesperson for the company stated that Equinor was considering further sales of energy assets in the US, in the aftermath of the global oil price war.

[61] In May 2021, Equinor and Italian energy company Eni announced that they were partnering on developing floating wind farms in the North Sea under a contract with the Norwegian government.

[62] Equinor partnered with Norwegian renewable energy company Vårgrønn in 2021 to acquire wind acreage in the Utsira Nord region of the North Sea.

The fields operated are Brage, Heimdal, Grane, Glitne, Gullfaks, Heidrun, Huldra, Kristin, Kvitebjørn, Mikkel, Njord, Norne, Ormen Lange, Oseberg, Sleipner, Snorre, Snøhvit, Statfjord, Sygna, Tordis, Troll, Veslefrikk, Vigdis, Visund, Volve, and Åsgard.

It partnered with Gazprom and Total on the Shtokman project in the Barents Sea,[65] but this was shelved due to high costs and low gas prices.

[66] After the introduction of international sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War against Russia,[67] Equinor has kept a much lower public profile on its Russian activities while continuing largely as before.

Equinor left Russia in September 2022 after striking a deal with Rosneft, selling its Russian assets and transferring future liabilities and investment commitments for one euro.

The company has trading offices for crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids in London, Stamford, Connecticut, and Singapore.

[84] In November 1987, several members of the board offered their resignation over approximately $780 million worth of cost overruns at the Mongstad refinery.

On June 29, 2004, Statoil was found guilty of corruption by the Norwegian courts and was ordered to pay NOK 20 million in fines.

[91]In March 2011, Statoil halted work on two North Sea oil field projects and laid off thousands of people due to a £2 billion U.K. tax on the sector.

[92][93] In 2012, a UK company, Ecclesiastical Investment, announced they were selling their stake in Statoil, as a result of perceived unethical practices related to Athabasca oil sands projects.

[95][66] In June 2014, Statoil announced it had completed a 12-month exploration program of its Castberg license project in the Arctic and found less-than-expected oil reserves.

Production, which had originally been planned to start in 2018, was temporarily shelved while the company and its partners reassessed the viability of the project and explored ways to reduce development costs.

[97] Not long ago, several oil majors, BP, Statoil/Equinor, and Chevron proposed plans to drill exploration wells in the southern part of the area from 2017 onwards.

[103] Though the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority approved exploration plans in late 2019,[104] Equinor withdrew from the project in February 2020, citing profitability reasons.

According to Equinor chairman Jon Erik Reinhardsen, the losses were driven by an ambitious growth strategy and overly optimistic price assumptions.

Sponsorship for education focuses on natural sciences and included a yearly competition for high school students in Norway where Statoils realfagspris is awarded.