In some circles, the question is increasingly being raised whether, among the many victims of the COVID-19 virus, may be the large, multinational oil and gas companies. Indeed, the 2020 reductions in travel and work hit energy companies hard. At the same time, a growing awareness of the potential devastation from climate change – think fires in California, freak storms in Texas – has focused attention on the importance of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Both have meant a sour 2020 bottom line for Big Oil.
ExxonMobil, for example, once one of the most powerful companies in the world, reported a staggering loss of $22 billion in 2020. BP, Shell and Chevron were not far behind, with $20 billion, $22 billion and $5 billion in losses to show for the year. These returns, combined with a growing U.S. acknowledgement of climate change and the need to address it, has led some energy pundits to question Big Oil’s future.
“The world’s largest oil companies are emerging diminished and humbled by the pandemic-fueled oil bust,” wrote Paul Takahashi in a Feb. 26, 2021 article for the Houston Chronicle. “They face an uncertain future, under pressure from governments looking to curb greenhouse gases, investors seeking better returns and others simultaneously wanting both.”