Big Oil Seems To Embrace the “Energy Transition,” But Is It Sincere?

Dishonest businessman telling lies

The 23rd Annual Petroleum Conference is underway in Houston, TX, and outside the building is a banner that reads, “Welcome To Houston, Energy Transition Capital of the World.”

What’s the significance of this?  Does the industry embrace the phasing out of fossil fuels in favor of low-carbon energy resources?

Let’s put it this way: The industry definitely understands the need to assert that it embraces the phasing out of fossil fuels in favor of low-carbon energy resources.  Anyone who reads knows that the traditional energy sector is engaged in a life-or-death struggle to postpone the transition away from fossil fuels for as long as possible.

The CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest daily oil producer, and the single greatest contributor to global carbon emissions of any company in the world, each year  since 1965, warns that too rapid a shift will cause runaway inflation and social unrest.  Who could have seen that coming?