Major cuts to oil production, an equally major boost to clean energy project development, and ambitious emissions reduction targets: this was Big Oil’s pledge for the future last year. It’s worth acknowledging the effect the coronavirus pandemic had on oil demand, which motivated oil companies to diversify beyond their core business, but the motivation was already there as pressure from investors started growing for a more environmentally responsible way of doing energy business. The majors themselves are confident they have the means and expertise to turn into the global utilities of tomorrow. They are betting big on electricity generation and distribution, EV charging, and, of course, wind, solar, and hydrogen. And they are making it sound like it will be smooth sailing. But it won’t be. The renewables pivot of Big Oil has been hailed by many and criticized by many, the latter of those who remember previous attempts—at […]