meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Energy Gang

As Profits Rise, Oil Majors Face New Pressures

The Energy Gang

Wood Mackenzie

Alternative Energy, Tech News, 958784, Environment, Technology, Renewable Energy, Energy, Business, Sustainability, Wind Energy, Climate Change, Cleantech, News, Solar Energy, Innovation, News Commentary

4.61.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2021

⏱️ 60 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We started the Covid pandemic at negative oil prices. Today, benchmark prices are above $70. And top oil companies are reporting billions of dollars in profits.

And now there is more scrutiny than ever on how they’re going to spend that money.

Activist shareholders are starting to get climate champions on oil major board seats -- most notably, climate tech investor and former wind executive Andy Karsner on Exxon Mobil’s board.

A dutch court is now forcing Shell to reduce the emissions from its products by 45%, after a successful lawsuit from environmental groups. Oil executives now have their lawyers on speed dial.

And big asset managers, like BlackRock, which lend to many of the world’s energy giants, are scrutinizing their climate plans. 

So what does it all amount to as oil markets rebound?

Ed Crooks, the vice chair of Americas at Wood Mackenzie, joins us this week to discuss.

Plus, we’ll talk about a new report card on America’s infrastructure. It’s a slight improvement, but the grade is still pretty awful. 

And, carbon offsets are going up in flames. Literally. What comes next for forestry offsets?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow. As a leading provider of PV inverter solutions across the world, Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone and 154 gigawatts in total across the globe. Email them to learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by S&C Electric Company. Today, non-wires alternatives such as microgrids can provide more sustainable, resilient and economical ways to deliver reliable power. S&C helps utilities and commercial customers find the best solutions to meet their energy needs. Learn more.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, a quick note before we start the show.

0:03.2

As you may have noticed, the newest IPCC climate report is out this week, and it just shows

0:11.0

once again how dire things are when it comes to climate change.

0:16.1

We will be covering that in an upcoming show.

0:18.6

We did not cover that this week.

0:20.2

This episode was actually recorded at the end of last week.

0:23.3

Catherine's going to be on vacation for a couple weeks, so we've got some great content

0:27.1

coming up.

0:28.3

But when we're back in full force, we will be digging into the IPCC report.

0:33.0

So just wanted to give you a heads up on that.

0:35.2

And also a heads up on our sponsors, Sungrove is a leading provider of PV inverter solutions

0:40.1

across the world.

0:41.5

Sungrove is providing energy storage systems to some of the largest projects in the U.S.

0:46.1

Like the Chisel and Grid project in Fort Worth, Texas.

0:49.0

Chisel and Grid is a 100 megawatt standalone battery storage installation.

0:53.4

It's expected to start commercial operation in the middle of this year, and it's going

0:56.4

to provide energy and grid services to the growing Texas market.

1:00.5

Learn more about Sungrove storage solutions by emailing them at info at sungroamericas.com.

1:07.4

We're also brought to you by S&C Electric.

1:09.5

New technologies are unlocking innovative ways to solve power-related challenges.

1:14.2

Those conventional wired approaches, they're still viable, but they're not always the

1:18.3

best solution.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wood Mackenzie, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wood Mackenzie and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.