As many of the global oil majors seek to transition to “global power majors,” many smaller oil companies are happy to gobble up the fossil fuel assets. The large oil companies sell assets to pay down debt and lower their carbon footprint, but the smaller companies are betting that these higher polluting projects are going to remain profitable for years to come. This redistribution of carbon-emitting assets helps highlight how long the timeline may be for a true transition to renewable energy.
Blair Thomas,
Smaller, privately owned energy companies also enjoy less public pressure over concerns of carbon emissions. Many giant oil companies are feeling the wrath of activist investors who are attempting to force them into a transition sooner than they may like. We’ll see plenty of oil majors continue to divest from high-polluting projects, but the current trend shows that those projects are still necessary and will be completed, just by different companies than originally thought.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/energy-giants-ditch-oil-and-coal-projects-smaller-rivals-want-them-11618997401https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Small-Companies-Rush-To-Buy-Up-Big-Oils-Assets.html
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Small-Companies-Rush-To-Buy-Up-Big-Oils-Assets.html