“Even if there were to be peace right now, it would take time – we think a minimum of six months – before the situation returns to normal,” Equinor’s managing director Anders Opedal told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

His comments came as Equinor reported an 18% rise in first-quarter net profit to US$3.1 billion, buoyed by soaring prices due to the war.

“Many ships are blocked (in the Persian Gulf), many others are scattered around the world and need to come back, and so it will take a bit of time,” Opedal added, expressing hope for a return to normal since “no one has anything to gain from this war”.

However, like many of its competitors in Europe, such as TotalEnergies and BP, Equinor has capitalised on the surging prices sparked by the conflict.

Tehran has retaliated against the US-Israeli offensive launched on Feb 28 by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic corridor through which around one-fifth of the world’s crude oil normally transits.

The resulting sharp drop in supply has caused prices to skyrocket.

Norway, the largest oil and gas producer in Europe excluding Russia, has gone into overdrive to supply the European continent, whose energy vulnerability has been exposed by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In the first quarter, Equinor also posted record oil and gas production of 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, a 9% increase from the same period a year ago.

Critics have branded the Scandinavian country a “war profiteer”.

“Of course, war pushes oil and gas prices up; there is nothing we can do about these wars. We are not involved in them and have no influence over the decisions surrounding them,” Opedal told NRK.

“Our customers greatly appreciate that Norway and Equinor are a long-term supplier they can rely on both in good times and in more difficult periods such as these,” he argued.