SAUDI ARABIA - In Saudi Arabia, the state-owned oil giant is embarking on a series of massive offshore expansion projects designed to boost the kingdom’s crude production.
According to Climate Wire, In Saudi Arabia, the state-owned oil giant is embarking on a series of massive offshore expansion projects designed to boost the kingdom’s crude production. The United Kingdom and Norway are pumping more money into the North Sea in hopes of lifting out more oil. Exxon Mobil Corp., America’s oil giant, is plowing money into projects in waters off Guyana and Brazil. The offshore revival represents a shift after a decade of focus on onshore shale plays and amounts to a vote of confidence in oil’s long-term future. The move is notable as it follows several years of mounting talk of diversifying oil companies’ business models.
Europe’s oil giants have announced net-zero emission targets and have begun investing in everything from renewables to electric vehicle charging. Even America’s oil titans, which have long maintained that crude should be needed for decades to come, have begun pouring money into areas such as hydrogen and carbon capture.
“People who hoped the oil companies would stop investing in oil are likely to be disappointed,” said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners.
Climate Wire announced that the world is still likely to consume large amounts of oil for decades to come, even if energy transition efforts gain steam and global crude demand begins to decline. That means investment in new or expanded fields is needed to offset declining production from existing wells. The result is something of a race, with oil companies seeking to identify fields that can produce at low oil prices and outlast competitors in a shrinking market.
“Whatever transition brings to the oil industry, there is going to be a place for cleaner, cheaper barrels,” Book said.
Source: Climate Wire