Equinor Considers Exiting Empire Wind Project Amid Rising Stop Work Expenses

Equinor is expressing frustration with the Trump Governance and the Department of the Interior over a halt to its Empire Wind offshore energy initiative. Just a month ago,Secretary Doug burgum issued a stop work order,claiming that the project’s permitting process was rushed and needed more scrutiny.

Molly Morris,who leads Equinor Renewables Americas,described the situation as “urgent and unsustainable” in her recent chat with POLITICO. The company has struggled to arrange a meeting with Burgum for clarification on his concerns and hasn’t received any details about the report that supposedly questioned their permits. As it stands, no further facts has been shared by the Department of the Interior regarding this review.

A Bloomberg article from May 12 revealed that Equinor’s CEO Anders Opedal met with Kevin Hassett from the US National Economic Council. Unfortunately for Equinor,there seems to be no shift in outlook from an administration that has openly opposed offshore wind projects.

If things don’t change soon, Morris warned Bloomberg on Monday that they might have to abandon ship—literally—on this project. “We’re pushing every day for some resolution,” she stated.

The company emphasizes it spent seven years securing approvals before launching work last year; currently,they claim about 30 percent of construction is done. Onshore cabling efforts and development at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal are moving forward while offshore activities were put on hold due to this order.

Morris pointed out that this stoppage is costing them around $50 million weekly. With 11 vessels idled and over 100 workers ready to start offshore operations this spring, time is running out for them. Even though some work continues on land, without guidance from Washington soon, they may have no choice but to walk away entirely.

The financial stakes are high: Equinor has already invested approximately $2.7 billion into what was projected as a $5 billion venture set to begin commercial operations by 2027. By March’s end, they had drawn about $1.5 billion under their financing agreement while also guaranteeing equity commitments related to project funding—a complete shutdown would mean repaying those funds along with potential penalties owed to suppliers.

This issue extends beyond just one project; it raises questions about how contracts and investments are treated under current administration policies. Other major players like Shell and TotalEnergies have either paused or abandoned their U.S.-based plans due to similar uncertainties surrounding regulatory risks.

Morris cautioned against setting such perilous precedents by halting projects mid-execution—a move she believes could deter future investments across various sectors.
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Diving deeper into legal avenues seems likely; during its quarterly earnings call at April’s end, Equinor labeled this stop work order as “unlawful” while exploring possible legal responses.
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The state of New York quickly voiced its support for Equinor when news broke of trump’s halt order; since then, 17 states alongside D.C., have filed lawsuits challenging both Trump’s executive action and its implications for leasing processes tied to offshore energy initiatives.
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