In the late 1990s, international oil companies all wanted to be like Enron. The flashy Texas firm had shaken up the staid energy world with its ventures into gas and electricity trading, broadband, solar power, and the US’s then largest wind turbine developer. That desire faded somewhat after Enron’s ignominious 2001 collapse. But almost two decades later, new energy is again on the agenda for the world’s oil supermajors.
The context of the investments of the late 1990s into new energies is in some ways similar to what’s happening today, but different in others. A decade of low prices had left the major oil companies searching for elusive profit growth. After a false start in the 1970s, European and American governments had begun backing green energy with enthusiasm. The growing power and influence of environmentalist movements put oil companies under pressure following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, Shell’s plans in 1995 to sink the disused Brent Spar oil platform in the North Atlantic, and its record on human rights and land degradation in Nigeria.
In 2000, BP, under the PR-savvy leadership of John Browne, rebranded itself as “Beyond Petroleum” and changed its logo to a sunflower, derided by some as “Big Petunia”. It bought out Enron, its partner in a solar power venture, and became involved in wind and hydrogen power. Chevron invested in geothermal, Shell in wind, biofuels and solar, with Total committing to nuclear power.
But as oil prices recovered, the super-majors increasingly came to see renewables as a small, low-return business dependent on government subsidies, and were slow to innovate. The rise of China-made solar panels made manufacturing highly competitive, and Shell sold off its solar interests in 2006. BP Solar, meanwhile, was wound up in 2011.
Fast forward to the present day, and a new spell of low oil prices, combined with environmental policy pressure, has again driven a search for other businesses. But things seem different this time around.
BP’s latest Energy Outlook, released late last month, showed that oil companies are increasingly willing to contemplate a peak in oil demand, though the estimated date ranges from the mid-2020s to the 2040s or beyond. Renewables meanwhile are a much larger and more competitive industry than a decade ago.
Total has been an early mover in the latest renewables surge; just as BP was getting out of solar, the French firm got in, buying 60 per cent of US-based SunPower in 2011. It is also a partner in Abu Dhabi’s Shams 1 solar thermal power plant.
The sums being committed to new energies now are larger than in the early 2000s: $1 billion annually for Shell by 2020, equivalent to 3-4 per cent of its total capital spending, while Total paid $1bn for French battery maker Saft in 2016. Over the past five years, large oil companies have spent more than $3bn on solar acquisitions.
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Read more:
Oil beyond 2018: what lies ahead for 'Super Opec'
Indian consortium’s stake in Abu Dhabi’s Lower Zakum ticks boxes for both sides
Iraq's oil industry is on the mend
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Oxford University professor Dieter Helm has questioned whether most renewable energy really fits within oil companies’ business models. Such firms have traditionally been built to brave high levels of geological and political risk to find or acquire resources in remote areas, and then deploy vast amounts of capital over several years to build complicated infrastructure to bring them to market.
Such business models did not fit well with small-scale renewable manufacturing ventures in the early 2000s. But today’s strategy seems better thought-out and more integrated with the super-majors’ legacy businesses, moving from gas to electricity and powering battery vehicles. Some deals for example have concentrated on securing outlets for gas, a relatively clean fuel on which all the oil companies are increasingly betting.
Biofuels have been part of the core business of supplying transport fuels for years now, as they are mandatorily blended into petrol and diesel. Hydrogen, which might eventually be a fuel for ships, planes, home heating, small-scale power, and industry, is typically made from gas and seems like a natural fit. Carbon capture and storage relies on skills in chemical engineering, pipelines and understanding geology and fluids underground, all core competencies. Statoil has been developing floating wind turbines, an outstep of its skills in offshore structures in harsh northern seas.
The question for European majors is whether they will ever incorporate non-hydrocarbon technologies into their DNA, and find a way to generate synergies between them and their traditional businesses. If not, they might as well return capital to shareholders, who can then redeploy it into renewables.
This is the philosophy of the American super-majors, ExxonMobil and Chevron, which have stayed firmly wedded to fossil fuels. Their stance reflects less political pressure over the environment in the Trump era than a decision to concentrate on shale oil and gas resources, and their philosophy of staying close to their core business.
The big national oil companies –Saudi Aramco, Adnoc, Rosneft, China National Petroleum Corporation – have likewise concentrated on hydrocarbons. Their main areas for growth and diversification are gas, refining and petrochemicals, while the rise of renewable energy in the Middle East has been led by utilities and specialist units such as Masdar. But the large state-owned firms have at least to think about the impact on their businesses of electrified mobility, competition to sign up gas end-users, and the synergy or struggle between renewables and gas power.
And the Middle East countries need to keep a close eye on the strategies of Shell, Statoil, Total and BP. If their ventures into new energies are successful, it will be a valuable pointer to how to diversify today’s oil-dependent economies. Failure, though, will be an early-warning signal of the challenges of the great energy transformation.
Robin M. Mills is CEO of Qamar Energy, and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Inside%20Out%202
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
Hellas Verona v Roma (10.45pm)
Sunday
Parma v Napoli (2.30pm)
Genoa v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (8pm)
Juventus v Sampdoria (10.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Bologna (10.45om)
Playing September 30
Benevento v Inter Milan (8pm)
Udinese v Spezia (8pm)
Lazio v Atalanta (10.45pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20profile
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The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
Company%20profile
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Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
Company%20Profile
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