The oil and gas producer's adjusted earnings before tax and interest for October-December rose to $15.1 billion from $15 billion a year earlier, beating the $14.4 billion predicted in a poll of 25 analysts compiled by Equinor.

"On the back of strong earnings, outlook, and balance sheet, we step up capital distribution to (an) expected $17 billion in 2023," Chief Executive Anders Opedal said in a statement.

The majority state-owned company last year became Europe's largest supplier of natural gas as Russia's Gazprom cut deliveries amid the West's support for Ukraine, sending European gas prices to all-time highs.

Equinor's previous adjusted earnings record amounted to $36.2 billion in 2008, when the price of North Sea oil rose to record highs.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)