Money in every sunbeam

Deeksha had just finished her MSc in business when she entered Equinor’s corporate graduate program.

“I'm done with the first year, where I worked as a valuation analyst in business opportunities in the solar and wind energy sectors, she explains.”

Challenging work

There is much to learn, as the projects can take place in different countries and everything in the energy sector is new to her. Luckily, her major in Finance was of great use during her first time of analysing the financial aspects and profitability of various projects.

“Working with the financial aspects is easy after studying at BI, but there has been a lot to learn when it comes to the engineering and technical details.”

In the wind energy department, she has worked with multiple assignments at the same time and has needed to create meticulous schedules to divide her time between the projects. Every task has been demanding, not only in the start-up phase, but also on an ongoing basis as the projects develop and grow.

Next phase: green innovation

“Now I am entering year two, with new tasks in a new team working on investments and start-ups in the green energy sector. It may be a matter of capturing carbon dioxide or doing something with hydrogen.”

During the course of this year, Deeksha will get a good overview of the market trends in the field and find out where the innovation is. She wants to use her economic analysis of environmentally friendly energy projects to discover which solutions will be most profitable. This is important work for Equinor and for the environment alike. It also allows her to be involved in the development of new ideas and solutions.

“It's exciting to be involved in a sector that is in such a state of change, and in which new firms are attracting investments from more traditional industries. We´re working with concepts that may become reality in 8-10 years. New agreements with different firms are being drawn up and there is always a lot going on.”

New experiences, familiar theories

Deeksha has met quite a few people so far, despite significant time working independently. Most of her meetings have been with technical staff or lawyers. She has used some of Equinor software, but Excel has been her best friend.

Even if she is one year into her professional life, she still reads books from her time at BI to refresh her knowledge. During her studies, she found the course on valuation the most exciting.

“The studies at BI have been useful. As a financial analyst, I use much of what I learned there - everything from cash flow to profit opportunities. I calculate the financials for each project, for example a wind farm, over the entire project's life cycle. Then I deliver an NPV (Net Present Value). Oil and gas will be with us for a good while in the future, but we need a change, and it's exciting to be part of that.