), but it made clear that the intention to transition wasn’t immediately seen as a panacea to the industry’s problems.
In practice, too, Big Oil’s green initiatives are still marginal to oil and gas, which remain the biggest profit-drivers. For instance, BP allocated onlyto investing in renewables. While Shell and BP, as well as a few other companies, have outlined investments in alternative fuels and fuel technologies, it’s unclear exactly how big of a role new energy sources will play relative to fossil fuels in most portfolios.
Inside Shell, one of the companies pushing a new green image, a petroleum geologist told me that the mood in his division is gloomy. Part of the company’s net-zero announcement included a, which will be the fourth reorganization he has been through. Promotions, raises, perks like phones, and time to take part in trainings aren’t thrown around like they once were. Most of his colleagues, he said, have started considering career alternatives.
A former BP employee told me that he had supported his company’s plan, but didn’t know exactly how it would be implemented. “I think the question that a lot of folks are asking is: What’s the transition plan?” he said. “Because these hydrocarbon businesses, you know—exploring for oil and gas, refining crude oil, selling petrol and diesel fuel—those are still the foundational building blocks of BP today. Those are still the bits of BP that generate most of the cash.
Even inside the companies, though, some believe that the only way for the oil majors to move forward is by embracing a new identity—a viewpoint that jibes with that of the current administration. Last week, Biden’s White House
*clutches pearls*