COPENHAGEN, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Norwegian police said on Tuesday they have fined Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor over pollution at the group’s Mongstad refinery on Norway’s west coast.
The fine, based on “years of inadequate maintenance” was set at 220 million Norwegian crowns ($21.66 million) while a further 500 million crowns would be confiscated, the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime said in a statement.
Equinor said it contested the decision and plans to challenge the penalty in court.
“We disagree that the company has failed to fulfil its duty of proper maintenance of the plant over several decades and that the company has saved cost through inadequate maintenance,” the company said in a statement.
($1 = 10.1572 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
