Japanese media: European and American oil giants accelerate the layout of new energy

According to the Japan Economic News reported on August 26, overseas oil giants such as BP have acquired new energy companies
.
This is because of high oil prices and the increased
amount of money available to oil majors.
In addition to European companies, U.
S.
companies, which had previously taken a negative stance on renewable energy, have also begun to take action
.
Companies will accelerate the shift to a profit structure that relies on fossil fuels, but the stock market does not value renewable energy investments that do not generate short-term benefits
.
Companies strive to strike a balance
between promoting decarbonization and striving for maximum profits.

"We are accelerating our move towards the goal of a cost-competitive global (hydrogen) production site
.
" BP CEO Bernard Looney expressed his enthusiasm
for the hydrogen business, which is expected to become the main energy source of the new generation, at the financial results press conference on the 2nd.

In July, BP invested 40.
5 percent in the Asia Renewable Energy Centre, which produces hydrogen
from wind and solar energy in Australia.
BP did not disclose the amount of the acquisition, and the Asia Renewable Energy Hub project was launched in 2014 with a scale of $36 billion
.

BP has set an ambitious goal of gaining a 10% share
of the global hydrogen market.
"The Asian Renewable Energy Centre has the potential to become one of the world's largest renewable and green hydrogen energy hubs
," Looney said.
He stressed that this investment is crucial
to achieving the goal.

France's Total Energy announced in May that it would acquire a 50 percent stake
in Clearway Energy Group for $1.
6 billion in cash.
Clearway Energy Group is the fifth-largest renewable energy company in the United States and has a strong
performance in wind power.
Total has taken a series of actions, announcing the acquisition of the core solar company in the United States in April and the commercial and industrial solar power business
of Solar Power in February.

Total has set a target of 100 million kilowatts of renewable energy generation capacity by 2030, but only 11.
6 million kilowatts
as of June this year.
This is difficult to achieve with R&D alone, and the goal is to increase power generation capacity
through successive acquisitions.
On September 9, Shell completed the acquisition of Indian renewable energy startup Spönger Energy, which has a place
in projects such as solar power generation.
Companies are common when it comes to the strategy of
exchanging money for time.

Large U.
S.
companies, previously thought to be more reluctant to decarbonize, than European companies under strong pressure from shareholders and governments, are now taking action
.
Chevron announced in June that it had completed the acquisition of the U.
S.
Renewable Energy Group for a total purchase price of $3.
15 billion
.

Chevron's head has made it clear: "Even if you participate in wind and solar power, you can't create value
for shareholders.
" "This is understood by the industry to be different
from the posture of European companies.

U.
S.
Renewable Energy Group operates light oil and aviation fuel made from waste and vegetable oils
.
Against the backdrop of increased environmental regulation, Chevron has set a goal
of producing the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil per day of renewable fuels by 2030.
The acquisition enabled it to secure one-third
of its targets.

The backdrop to the oil giants' intensification of huge mergers and acquisitions is the high price of oil and the abundance
of funds on hand.
Oil prices are currently down slightly, but still 1.
5 times the level
of December 2019 (before COVID-19).
Chevron's cash and cash equivalents as of the end of June doubled from December 2021 to $12,029 million
.

However, rather than investing in a new generation of energy, the stock market is more inclined to welcome short-term shareholder returns
such as dividends and buying its own shares.
Among the five largest companies in Europe and the United States, ExxonMobil, which values huge shareholder returns, has seen its share price rise the most since the beginning of the year, reaching 55%.

The share prices of European companies that are actively transitioning to a new generation of energy have risen by only about
two or three percent.