Letter from Amsterdam: Europe’s IOCs first out of the blocks
As investor sentiment shifts, companies that align with the transition have a significant competitive edge
Europe’s biggest oil companies are all making strategic changes to mitigate future climate risks, a move spurred by investor, societal and political pressures that have given the firms a head-start in the energy transition race over competitors from less climate-focused regions. ‘Net zero by 2050’ has been the catchphrase among European IOCs over recent months. All of Europe’s biggest oil companies—BP, Total, Shell, Norway’s Equinor and Italy’s Eni—have committed to getting as close as possible to eliminating their carbon emissions by the middle of this century. Shell, Equinor and Eni have gone as far as including scope three emissions—the carbon released by their customers. North Amer
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future






