The CEO of the largest gas supplier to the UK, Norway’s Equinor, has cautioned that it will be tough to further increase output after increasing output last year to help fill the void in Europe’s stocks caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

Anders Opedal stated that the continent’s natural gas demand must decrease to compensate for the loss of Russian supplies while revealing record-breaking annual profits for the company.

Despite being a net gas exporter during warmer months, the UK typically imports 25% of its annual demand from Norway due to insufficient storage capacity.

Equinor, formerly known as Statoil and majority-owned by the Norwegian government, increased production by 8% in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine.

Its efforts and continent-wide energy-saving measures have contributed to the lights remaining on this winter.

Among the difficulties of the past few months was the sluggish return to production at numerous French nuclear plants. The UK has relied on Norwegian gas flows during cold nights when the wind has failed to blow, most recently utilising the Demand Flexibility Service to alleviate pressure during peak hours.

A week ago, according to recent industry statistics, gas accounted for over forty per cent of the industry’s power output. Europe is preparing to replenish depleted supplies before winter, making the chief executive’s remarks crucial.

Despite the continent-wide decline in wholesale prices since the end of last summer, prices may increase in the coming months.

Despite additional agreements with the United States to increase volumes of liquefied natural gas, the potential for a cold end to the current winter, storage capacity, and gas availability remain concerns.

The record prices for natural gas enabled Equinor to post $74.9bn (£61.9bn) in adjusted operating profits for 2022, which was more than double its previous record and $28.7bn (£23.7bn) in net profits.

It reported its earnings as oil and gas giants BP and Shell faced a domestic backlash over their profits, with government critics demanding a higher windfall tax to compensate the public purse for the energy-driven cost of living crisis.

Tessa Khan, executive director of the environmental organisation Uplift, stated, “While Equinor rakes in these profits, people in the UK are having their homes broken into by debt collectors.” She added, “Equinor has become wealthy off the suffering of millions in the UK.”