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Climate Agenda of the Leading US Oil Companies
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Climate Agenda of the Leading US Oil Companies
Annotation
PII
S268667300025817-8-
DOI
10.31857/S2686673023010030
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Nikolay Ivanov 
ORCID: 0000-0002-6066-6416
Affiliation:
Russian Oil and Gas Academy named after Gubkin
Russian Energy Agency under the RF Ministry of Energy
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Nina Poussenkova
ORCID: 0000-0002-8971-1620
Affiliation:
Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations
European University at St.Petersburg
Address: Russian Federation, St.Petersburg
Edition
Issue 1
Pages
38-58
Abstract

The authors investigate characteristics of the fourth energy transition from fossil fuel to renewables that is currently underway on the global scale and its impact on the oil and gas sector. They study evolution of the climate agenda of oil companies and its main drivers. The article explores specifics of the American model of oil majors’ decarbonization and analyzes key differences between the American and European models. The authors assess the main reasons for the high climate responsibility of the European oil companies. They study the key drivers of climate policy of the US majors, e.g. greening of financial institutions and investors, consumers’ preferences, etc. A special focus is made on the evolution of the US government climate strategy. Recently, the US majors have been demonstrating greater climate awareness and began to announce their net zero commitments. The authors study specific decarbonization measures taken by the main US oil companies (ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Occidental Petroleum), such as R&D in the sphere of biofuels, carbon capture, utilization and storage, control of methane leakages, production of hydrogen, etc. The article emphasizes that the US oil companies, in contrast to their European counterparts, are reluctant to diversify their asset portfolio by expanding the share of renewables. Their reluctance might stem from the fact that oil companies that possess considerable proved reserves of hydrocarbons and that made significant investments in upstream are not eager to focus on renewables. Currently, the American majors continue to bet on the long-term future of oil and gas, remain loyal to their core oil and gas business and pursue climate agenda mainly by enhancing their energy efficiency through the use of their competitive advantages, primarily technological supremacy. The authors believe that under Joe Biden’s administration the climate agenda of the leading US oil companies will be strengthened further.

Keywords
Decarbonization, net zero, European and American majors, carbon intensity, energy transition, carbon capture, utilization and storage, methane emissions, hydrogen, biofuel, renewables, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum
Received
05.10.2022
Date of publication
30.01.2023
Number of purchasers
12
Views
196
Readers community rating
0.0 (0 votes)
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S268667300025817-8-1 Дата внесения правок в статью - 30.05.2023
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