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After ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell, TotalEnergies has just joined the club of oil majors which have announced huge profits in 2021 thanks to rising prices. So tomorrow, who will benefit from this windfall?
The first served will be the shareholders, that’s for sure. But then there is the question of the choice of projects that will benefit from these miraculous revenues. The energy transition in which the majors have, willy-nilly, engaged, will it take a hit or on the contrary accelerate?
« Gas and oil prices are such that shareholders might salivate and reconsider their position vis-à-vis fossil fuels “says an expert. In other words, the energy transition might suddenly become less urgent on the agendas, especially since the current energy crisis has proven that even in a decarbonization scenario, the place of gas and oil is still considerable.
Chevron and ExxonMobil are most committed to oil
But the choice of the majors might first be made according to their DNA. Chevron and ExxonMobil, the two American companies, do not have the same vision as European companies and paint themselves less green, explains Jean-Pierre Favennec, professor at the French Petroleum Institute at Paris Dauphine University and Sciences Po. They both remain very attached to oil exploitation, and for Exxon they are very involved in shale oil.
On the side of Shell, BP and TotalEnergies, investment in renewables is now demanded, even if it is also partly constrained by shareholders anxious to decarbonize their portfolios.
After years of investment at half mast, it is difficult to say whether the spectacular rise in prices will spark new exploration projects and push some to play their fossil asset before 2030, the theoretical date of peak oil. On the other hand, the scheduled start-ups will indeed take place, as the commitment of TotalEnergies in Uganda or BP in Senegal proves.
TotalEnergies will invest 3.5 billion dollars this year in renewables and electricity
After the announcement of its profits for 2021, TotalEnergies plans to dedicate, this year, to renewable energies and electricity, around a fifth of its 14 to 15 billion dollars of planned investments.
BP says it wants to increase its share of investments in energy transition activities to more than 40% by 2025. But to recall at the same time its desire to remain focused on its oil and gas activities for the coming decade.