Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Aug 13, 2026

Fossil fuels: 20 oil and gas firms who support Paris Agreement projected to spend $932bn on new sites by 2030

All 20 firms have voiced support for the Paris Agreement, but UN scientists warn any new oil and gas sites would put 1.5C Paris goal beyond reach. 20 fossil fuel firms including Shell and BP are projected to spend $932 billion (£715 bn) on new oil and gas fields by 2030.
All the oil majors have pledged support for the Paris Agreement, which commits to limiting global warming to ideally 1.5C above pre-industrial levels - firms who hadn't were discounted from the list.

The analysis from campaigners Global Witness and Oil Change International comes a week after the United Nations (UN) called it "moral and economic madness" to invest in new oil and gas.

UN scientists (IPCC) warned those assets risked becoming stranded by mid-century, and that new fossil fuel projects would tip the world well over the 1.5C Paris target.

Investments from companies that say they are aligned with Paris look "deeply hypocritical" and stand in "stark contrast" with the IPCC's findings, said Global Witness campaigner Barnaby Pace.

Russian state company Gazprom topped the list with a predicted spend of $138bn (£105bn), Shell ranked ninth with $46bn and BP fourteenth with $30bn, according to the researchers' analysis of Rystad Energy data.

The figures cover new oil and gas sites being explored or developed, not those already up and running.

"We aren't ready to stop using oil and gas overnight, but these are investments in new oil and gas fields that will be only coming online in years or decades to come," added Mr Pace.

By the end of 2040, the collective spend is expected to reach $1.5 trillion, the analysis shows.

Clean energy investments by the oil and gas industry accounted for around 1% of total capital expenditure in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.

ExxonMobil - which ranked second with a projected spend of $83bn - said it planned to invest $15bn in "lower-emissions technologies". These include hydrogen, biofuels, and technology to suck carbon out of the air - which scientists say is necessary and should be reserved for very limited sectors - but not renewable energy, other than to electrify some operations.

Shell expects a gradual decline in total oil production of about 1-2% a year, and plans to invest around £15bn in "low and zero-carbon" energy - including offshore wind and hydrogen - in Britain, representing 75% of their UK investment.

Chevron said oil and natural gas are "critical to ensuring reliable energy for decades" and it was reducing the emissions from the extraction process.

"As the energy transition unfolds, demand for fossil fuels will likely fall and companies must ensure that they... don't sanction high cost products that are not needed and ultimately will fail to deliver a return to their shareholders," said Mike Coffin from financial think tank Carbon Tracker.

That means companies planning on sanctioning new oil and gas projects are "thus effectively betting both on the collective failure to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, and on [the failure of] renewables and technologies such as battery storage to substitute for oil and gas," he said.

The British Government last week sparked criticism when it confirmed in its new Energy Security Strategy it would grant new licences for new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
×