* Company hopes for approval of Canada's Bay du Nord next

year

* Controversial North Sea project moving forward

* EU has strong ties with Ukraine

(Updates throughout)

By Stephanie Kelly

HOUSTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Anders Opedal, CEO of

Norway's Equinor ( EQNR ), said on Tuesday the European Union

was unlikely to increase Russian gas imports to offset Middle

East supply disruption while Russia's war with Ukraine

continues.

"When I talk to ministers in several countries, bringing

Russian gas back in the middle of the war with Ukraine would be

very, very difficult," Opedal said in an interview at the

CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, citing the EU's

partnership with Ukraine.

The bloc has been Kyiv's staunchest ally since Russia's

invasion, backing Ukraine's effort to retain control of its

territory.

Russia's share of EU gas imports dropped from 45% before the

full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to 12% in 2025, according

to EU data, as the bloc implemented sanctions, contract bans and

emergency diversification. U.S. liquefied natural gas and

increased supply from Norway have filled much of the gap.

Opedal said Europe now has a more diverse range of supply

sources than it did in 2022.

"Everything that we have been able to produce has actually

moved to Europe, all the gas and 90-95% of the oil actually goes

to Europe," Opedal said. "It's even more important that we

continue that journey now after the war in the Middle East."

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's attacks on Gulf

neighbors have brought another global energy crisis, by damaging

energy facilities and largely halting tanker traffic in

the Strait of Hormuz - which handles about 20% of global oil and

LNG flows.

Equinor ( EQNR ) produced a record amount of petroleum in 2025, helped by

increased international output, and expects about 3% production

growth this year.

So far this year, Equinor ( EQNR ) has participated in eight

discoveries in the Norwegian continental shelf, versus 14 all of

last year, Opedal said. The North Sea Rosebank oil project,

which has become a lightning rod for climate activists in

Britain, is moving forward, he said.

Opedal said he hopes next year to approve the offshore Bay

du Nord oil project in Canada, with the start of production by

2032. Bay du Nord is a C$14 billion ($10.18 billion) investment

with production capacity of 160,000 barrels per day, Opedal

said.

Opedal said there is significant untapped oil and gas

potential in areas where resources have already been discovered,

such as the Norwegian continental shelf, United Kingdom, Brazil,

Argentina and Namibia.

($1 = 1.3750 Canadian dollars)