Goodbye Big Oil, Hello Mega Oil?

If the world needs to cut carbon emissions by half by 2030, the message hasn't been received in Saudi Arabia. Or in Mexico, Venezuela, Iraq, Russia or Suriname. Saudi Aramco is planning to ramp up oil production by a million barrels a day by 2030 and other national oil companies (NOCs) are following suit. Their output and investment in exploration are heading up, not down and their market share will grow to 75 per cent by 2040. They feel little pressure to respond to climate change or limit their environmental impact. The household names grouped together as Big Oil in the rich North may be reconciling themselves to net zero and a future in renewables, but the NOCs are eager to pick up the slack and the governments that depend on them for tax revenues are unlikely to interfere. So on Energy Day at COP26 we'll ask: What is to be done about the NOCs? Are any of them serious about diversifying away from oil and gas? If not, how can the governments that control them be persuaded to make the energy transition the planet needs, and who will pay for it?

Speaker:

Giles Whittell, Sensemaker Editor, Tortoise

This session has been paid for and developed by Tortoise. It is not editorial content of The New York Times.

Watch 'Goodbye Big Oil, Hello Mega Oil?'