Investors are still getting a grip on the major oil companies’ net zero and green shift strategies, BP CEO Bernard Looney said Wednesday at a virtual conference at which top executives from Europe’s largest oil companies discussed the future of energy. .
“I am confident that this will be recognized over time. But I understand investors are wondering whether we can do it or not, ”Looney said at the Energy Institute’s IP Week conference, as supported by Bloomberg.
Speaking of BP’s foray into renewable energy solutions, Looney said the company he leads wants to give society the renewable energy it needs, but noted that oil and gas – albeit in smaller volumes – will remain central. in BP’s business because of the cash engine to help transform it into a low-carbon business.
“You can’t defy gravity, you can’t go against the will of society … I want to be the one in the room figuring out how to give people the renewable energy they want,” Looney said
But he too said that “People don’t always want our product, but they need it … Oil and gas will be there for decades to come, and it’s central to our business – fueling our transition to a low-carbon business.”
BP, as well as Norwegian Equinor and French Total, said at this week’s IP Week conference that they are excited about hydrogen.
Equinor’s CEO Anders Opedal said that the Norwegian giant would focus over the next two to three years on “accelerating renewable energy growth, especially in offshore wind. We are also enthusiastic about hydrogen and CCUS. “
Italy’s Eni, for its part, rules out future double-digit multi-billion investment in new oil projects as it would “sanction projects in the $ 5-6 billion range with shorter time to market,” Guido Brusco, Upstream Director, said on the conference.
Last year, Eni was one of the first oil companies to announce a plan to cut emissions, in which it said oil production would start to decline after 2025 under the new long-term strategy of relying on natural gas, renewables and new technologies.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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