European oil giants to drill, baby, drill in green energy retreat

By JESSICA CLARK

Updated: 08:04 GMT, 6 February 2025

Two European oil firms yesterday signalled a pivot back to fossil fuels as the industry retreats from renewables.

Norwegian state-backed group Equinor cut its green targets to boost shareholder value. And France’s TotalEnergies will invest less in low-carbon projects.

It came just one day after Shell reopened a North Sea field and BP said it would plough £20billion into an Iraqi project.

The moves represent a huge strategy shift for Europe’s energy giants away from green agendas.

Meanwhile, US rivals Exxon Mobil and Chevron have doubled down on profitable fossil fuels, creating a valuation gap between them and their European counterparts.

And US president Donald Trump has pledged to ‘drill, baby, drill’.

Pivot: Two European oil firms yesterday signalled a pivot back to fossil fuels

Equinor cut its renewable capacity target from between 12 and 16 gigawatts by 2030 to between 10 and 12 gigawatts.

And it scrapped a goal to spend 50 per cent of capital expenditure on renewables and low carbon energy by the end of the decade.

The firm also hiked its oil and gas output forecast by 10 per cent. It hopes to produce 2.2million barrels of oil equivalent a day within five years.

TotalEnergies will reduce low carbon investment by £320million this year. ‘We don’t see enough returns,’ chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said.

It comes after Shell last week resumed production at the Penguins oil and gas field in the North Sea – the first time it had launched a UK facility in more than 20 years.

And BP is spending up to £20billion to redevelop four Iraqi oil and gas fields, it emerged this week.

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European oil giants to drill, baby, drill in green energy retreat

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