HOUSTON, TEXAS (Ian Silverman, Energy Analytics Institute, 13.Feb.2025) — Equinor plans to appeal the decision of the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), which imposed a fine of €4mn on the Norwegian company for 2 cases of REMIT (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency) violations connected with the booking of annual gas transmission capacities, 1 in 2019 and 1 in 2020.
The case relates to the booking in capacity auctions relating to the French-Spanish network interconnection point Pirineos (PIR), Equinor said 13 Feb. 2025 in an official statement.
CRE claims Equinor colluded with Danske Commodities in the first round of the same annual gas capacity auctions by reserving more than the maximum volume of capacity offered for sale. For its part, Danske has been fined €8mn. Danske, like Equinor, will appeal the decision.
“Market compliance is fundamental in Equinor and we have standards and routines in place to ensure that we comply with regulations and conduct rules in the markets we operate in. We have found no signs of collusion and on that basis we do not agree with the decision from CRE that the alleged collusion took place. We will appeal the decision,” Equinor executive vice president for marketing, midstream and processing Irene Rummelhoff said in the statement.
From Equinor’s acquisition of Danske and onwards, market compliance measures have included information barriers in systems and organizational setup as well as training and follow-up by separate market compliance units. Equinor maintains that it and Danske acted independently, and that it booked capacity solely in order to keep access to the Spanish capacity booking platform and therefore ensure access to the Spanish gas market, the company said in the statement.
Equinor will appeal the case to Conseil d’État, the highest court in France for handling cases involving public administration.
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By Ian Silverman reporting from Houston. © 2025 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
