Exxon has recently doubled down on oil and gas, acquiring Pioneer Natural Resources in a $60 billion deal to expand U.S. shale dominance. It’s also investing in carbon capture and lithium—signaling a long-term bet on both hydrocarbons and emerging energy markets. This hybrid strategy shows that future resilience may depend on scale and adjacent technologies.
Last February, oil field services giant Schlumberger Ltd (NYSE:SLB) discussed its newly carved SLB New Energy unit which will focus on niches such as carbon solutions, hydrogen, energy storage, geothermal/ geoenergy and critical minerals each with a minimum addressable market of $10 billion, as reported by Bloomberg NEF.
Oil executives had identified efforts by New York and other states to penalize the industry for its greenhouse gas emissions and contributions to climate change as a top concern during a meeting with the president at the White House last month, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s an example of how the industry is getting much of what it wants from the administration, even as Trump’s global tariffs have triggered a sharp drop in crude prices over the past week.
“LNG traders care about volatility. If you’re in a flatter volatility environment, it doesn’t matter how good or bad your traders are, it’s going to be harder to make huge amounts of money,” Hewitt Energy Perspectives consultant David Hewitt told the FT.
ExxonMobil has joined the global Opec cartel in crossing swords with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the global net zero movement on what is set to be a critical controversy. That is, how sharply can we cut demand for oil and gas without inflicting widespread economic harm on the path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050?
The supermajors continue to bet on LNG while scaling back renewables projects and investments as oil and gas returns continue to trump the poor profits from renewables.
For 2023, the supermajors booked smaller profits, although in absolute terms, the figures were yet again quite impressive.
Several oil majors beat expectations despite reporting smaller overall profits in 2023 compared to 2022.
The combined profits of Big Oil came in at around $107.5 billion last year
It is the end of an era for Big Oil in California, as the most populous U.S. state divorces itself from fossil fuels in its fight against climate change.