Two of the major oil and gas companies that have been slow to embrace clean energy are now cautiously exploring non-fossil fuel markets as the world pivots away from traditional energy sources.
Norwegian state oil and gas giant Equinor recently acquired more than 41 million shares in Ørsted—one of the world’s largest developers of offshore wind power—acquiring a 9.8% minority stake in the Danish company.
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said in a news release that his company follows a “long-term perspective” and will be a supportive owner in Ørsted. The move is “counter-cyclical,” he added, implying that the investment’s financial performance is expected to counter the state of the overall economy. Equinor is not seeking board representation, though its stake, worth US$2.5 billion, makes it the wind company’s second largest shareholder after the Danish government.
“This investment is in line with Equinor’s strategy of value-driven growth in renewables,” Opedal said. “The offshore wind industry is currently facing a set of challenges, but we remain confident in the long-term outlook for the sector, and the crucial role offshore wind will play in the energy transition.”
Meanwhile, French energy and petroleum giant TotalÉnergies is considering expanding its trading business to include copper, a key metal for low-emission technologies. The company has yet to make a final decision, but is exploring the option as copper demand is projected to grow, while oil prices remain low due to weak demand from China, reports The Financial Times.
“They can see oil demand and the oil market in trend decline, and they are trying to de-risk that world, by switching to [the] metals world,” said Tom Price, resources analyst at Panmure Liberum.
But Price added that oil trading companies won’t be able to just fold metal investments into their current operations.
“These markets aren’t structured the same way as oil,” he said. “In principle they can do it, but in practice it will be a struggle.”
Many companies have historically been hesitant to invest in energy transition materials and projects, noting a higher risk in emerging markets for products like batteries and electric vehicles, reports Reuters. Though the long-term picture of a world moving away from fossil fuels “is intact”, companies are waiting for concrete consumer interest and firm government targets that will de-risk the new supply chains.
“I think there is a lot of doubt right now that this will happen,” Mathias Miedreich, former CEO of Belgium recycling and battery materials group Umicore, told a conference in Paris this past summer.
“That makes it very difficult to invest.”
