The new strategy of oil majors – From oil to renewables

Six major oil companies of Europe - BP, Shell, Chevron, Total, Eni, and Exxon have pumped billions into clean energy projects. These companies are progressively positioning themselves for the proclaimed energy transition.

In February 2020 -“We have got to change and change profoundly because the world is changing fast, and so are society’s expectations from us,” BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney.

Countries have signed the Conference of the Parties 21 (COP21) Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and more than 170 countries agreed to it.

Renewable Initiatives of Oil Majors

Royal Dutch Shell - CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, Mr. Ben van Beurden has told its investors that "Royal Dutch Shell is no longer an oil and Gas Company but an energy transition company".

Royal Dutch Shell announced to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It has acquired UK-based electricity and gas provider ‘First Utility’ and Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging company ‘New Motion’. Shell also bought a 49 percent stake in Australian solar company ESCO Pacific.

They also plan to spend around $2-3 billion each year via its “new energies division” from 2021 to 2025. The company also aims to become the world’s biggest electricity company by 2030 and wants to expand its electricity supply to 100 million people in developing countries by 2030.

British Petroleum

BP, the energy giant, had recently announced that it would slash its oil and gas production by 40 percent. It increases its annual investment in low carbon technology to $5 billion in the wind, solar, and hydrogen, a clean-burning gas, made it the first oil and gas giant to specify its investment goal.

BP shareholders have shown support for climate action at the annual meeting in May 2020. Shareholders approved a climate resolution to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord.

In 2018, the firm made an investment of $20 million in StoreDot, an Israeli developer of rapid charging batteries, and a $5 million investment in US company Free Wire, making fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.