Newsletters | Request Trial | Log in | Advertise | Digital Issue   |   Search
  • Upstream
  • Midstream & Downstream
  • Gas & LNG
  • Trading & Markets
  • Corporate & Finance
  • Geopolitics
  • Podcasts
Search
Related Articles
Profitability remains a prerequisite for a credible energy transition—Repsol
Insisting that profitability must be maintained as energy companies transition from fossil fuels to clean fuels has enabled Repsol to ratchet up its climate neutrality ambitions, making the company an industry leader.
International firms compete for Uruguayan blocks
The country’s frontier upstream continues to attract interest
Outlook 2023: The role for oil and gas in the energy transition
Upstream M&A activity is not being deterred by the move towards decarbonisation
Outlook 2023: Financing oil and gas in the energy transition
The energy transition creates an enormous opportunity for oilfield services because of the critical role oil and gas still needs to play and because of the sector’s ability to act as lead innovator
Cop27 leaves oil and gas unscathed
Opposition from producer countries made a commitment to ‘phase down’ fossil fuels impossible
Outlook 2023: Building the path to a just energy transition
With the right policies, security of supply should not be an opposing force to decarbonisation
Outlook 2023: Balancing the social and environmental impacts of the energy transition
The current supply crunch has brought concerns of a mismanaged energy transition to the fore for both the developing world and Western nations
Energy costs hit European refining
Margins narrowed considerably in the third quarter but still remain elevated for the time of year, as the continent continues to adapt following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
QatarEnergy’s INOC paradox
The state-owned LNG heavyweight is adamant that it is a purely commercial enterprise, but the evidence is conflicting
No investor punishment for TotalEnergies loosening the purse strings
The European major’s upping of capex forecasts is not ringing alarm bells despite wider shareholder desire for discipline
Shell CEO Ben van Beurden
Energy transition Climate change Shell
Peter Ramsay
19 October 2021
Follow @PetroleumEcon
Forward article link
Share PDF with colleagues

How to debate the transition with oil and gas firms

Is anger and a refusal to allow any comeback a useful tactic to shake up cosy complacency? Or is reasoned debate more useful?

An October Ted event where a climate activist, blinking back tears, launched a tirade at a slightly bemused Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, before refusing to let him answer her question and then storming off the platform she had agreed to share with him has captured global headlines. And maybe that is a good thing. It is unlikely that the conversation would have reached as wide an audience without the impassioned intervention of Lauren Macdonald, a member of both youth climate group Green New Deal Rising and Stop Cambo, a campaign to halt the development of a West of Shetland oilfield. On the flip side, it is hugely unlikely that her remarks would have gained any traction had they not been d

Also in this section
Learning from oil’s supercycle miss
5 December 2025
Mistaken assumptions around an oil bull run that never happened are a warning over the talk of a supply glut
Explainer: What do Russia’s oil giants own overseas?
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
Letter from Saudi Arabia: US-Saudi energy ties enter a new phase
Opinion
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
Letter from London: Oil’s golden triangle
Opinion
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026

Share PDF with colleagues

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: PDF sharing is permitted internally for Petroleum Economist Gold Members only. Usage of this PDF is restricted by <%= If(IsLoggedIn, User.CompanyName, "")%>’s agreement with Petroleum Economist – exceeding the terms of your licence by forwarding outside of the company or placing on any external network is considered a breach of copyright. Such instances are punishable by fines of up to US$1,500 per infringement
Send

Forward article Link

Send
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Project Data
Maps
Podcasts
Social Links
Featured Video
Home
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Reaching your audience
  • PE Store
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact us
  • Privacy statement
  • Cookies
  • Sitemap
All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws © 2025 The Petroleum Economist Ltd
Cookie Settings
;

Search