Big Oil Talks ‘Transition’ But Perpetuates Petroleum, House Documents Say

"A House oversight committee is expected Friday to release a trove of documents on oil companies and their internal communications. The Post obtained a portion of them."

"Some of the world’s major oil companies remain internally skeptical about the “energy transition” to a low-carbon economy, even as they publicly portray their firms as partners in the cause, according to documents obtained by The Post that will be released by a House committee Friday.

The documents, part of a trove expected to be released by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, reveal oil company executives dismissing the potential for renewable energy to quickly replace fossil fuels, while working to secure government tax credits for carbon capture projects that might relieve them of the need to drastically alter their business models.

The documents — many of them copies of internal emails between oil company officials — describe ExxonMobil’s efforts in 2021 to persuade big industrial firms and oil giants to co-sponsor a mammoth carbon capture project in Texas. Elsewhere, in one email string, officials at one company discuss whether BP, Shell and TotalEnergies — a French oil firm — increased their carbon footprints by selling Canadian oil sands interests to other eager investors."

Steven Mufson reports for the Washington Post December 9, 2022.

Source: Washington Post, 12/09/2022