U.S. oil companies play "environmental oil brand"

The US government proposed in March to impose a carbon tax, which once again hit the fossil fuel industry, but the executives of 10 oil and gas companies unexpectedly supported the plan.

Woodland and Hollub believe that reducing the carbon emissions of fossil fuels is the best way to deal with climate change.

●Wang Jiajing

In March, the US government proposed to impose a carbon tax to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, which once again hit the fossil fuel industry.

Emission reduction plan has sounded the alarm for high-carbon industries

According to data from Platts, if the US carbon tax is implemented in 2026, by 2030, the proportion of wind and solar power generation may increase from the current 11% to 30%, and the proportion of coal-fired power generation may increase from the current 21%.

A new study shows that actively promoting 100% clean energy can save the United States as much as US$321 billion in energy costs.

Emission reduction is not a ban on fossil fuels

In March, the most important theme of the energy consultancy Eschen Huamai Energy Conference was that large oil companies did not want to focus on cutting oil and gas production, but wanted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Interestingly, both CEOs emphasized that the world still needs oil and natural gas, and what governments need to solve is how to slow down the rate of global warming.

But even Exxon Mobil, the toughest vocalist, has a significant change in its attitude from a few years ago.

Nevertheless, ExxonMobil still plans to increase production in the Permian Basin and Guyana.

Woodland announced that it plans to increase investment in carbon capture and storage to 3% of new expenditures.

Investors don't buy it

The Exxon Mobil Alliance, which is composed of 135 investors and is responsible for overseeing two trillion dollars in assets, said that Exxon Mobil must change its development direction.

In addition, Hollub very much agrees with Woodland’s point of view, saying, “We should not abandon fossil fuels, but should eliminate carbon emissions.

Hollub said that the company’s goal is not only to become a net-zero oil producer, but also to help other companies reduce their carbon footprint.

Hollub revealed that the company has extracted carbon dioxide from two ethanol plants and a steel plant in Colorado and sequestered it in the Permian Basin.

　　Bioethylene is currently mainly produced from bioethanol extracted from sugarcane, and the plant is expected to be put into operation in 2022.

　　Energy giants are fighting for survival

　　Stuart Glickman, an energy analyst at the research and consulting firm CFRA, said that large oil companies spend a lot of time publicizing their efforts in low-carbon futures and carbon capture technologies because they are actually involved in a battle for survival.

　　Of course, fossil fuel investors still want to hear some old-fashioned questions, that is, whether the balance sheet is sound; whether it can maintain dividends; how does its operating cash flow perform; whether it can maintain the desired output with low capital expenditures, etc.
.
But at the same time, they also want to hear about investments in renewable energy and low-carbon solutions.

　　So far, oil and gas companies seem to have done a good job of calming investors’ nervousness.
The S&P 500 has gained 9.
8% since the beginning of the year.
However, at a time when most oil companies are turning to renewable energy investments, it is still a risky and untested strategy for American oil companies to simply turn to the green oil and gas industry.