Fuel on the fire: why oil companies are profiting as the world gets dangerously hot
SkimNews Take
New production infrastructure built today locks in decades of emissions beyond 2030, meaning every percentage point of expansion now widens the Paris gap further — the reversal of green commitments isn't a pause but a ratchet clicking forward.
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Ten major oil companies including Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron plan to increase production by an average of 14% between 2024 and 2030, per the TPI Global Climate Transition Centre at LSE.
- BP reversed its climate commitments, watering down a 40% production cut pledge to 25%, slashing renewable investments by $3bn, and boosting oil and gas spending to $10bn annually — while the company's profits more than doubled last quarter.
- Six European oil majors increased combined profits by 43% to $22bn, the highest level since 2022, with most backtracking on green energy pledges.
- Equinor lifted its oil and gas output target by 6% by 2030, while Petrobras is aiming to supply 21% more oil by 2030.
- Exxon plans a 25% production increase and Chevron 15% by 2030, with the Trump administration providing political cover for US expansion.
- The IEA's business-as-usual scenario projects a catastrophic 2.9°C global temperature increase by 2100, with the agency's own guidance stating no new long-term oil and gas exploration is compatible with Paris agreement goals.
- A new El Niño, forecast to be one of the most severe in decades, has been confirmed, with the Amazon bracing for additional fire, drought, and mass wildlife deaths.
Why it matters: Big Oil's planned 14% production expansion directly contradicts the IEA's finding that such growth pushes warming toward a catastrophic 2.9°C — meaning shareholders and short-term profits are being prioritized over the Paris-aligned 1.5°C limit that most of these firms once publicly pledged to support.
Ask SkimNews
