Last week, CERAWeek 2021 convened virtually as hundreds of speakers talked energy, climate change, and the future of the industry during rapid change. We missed the big hurrah the event usually brings to our very own backyard in Houston, but we’ve summarized the big trends and topics for you as we look at the innovations in energy.

The big themes: 

• Green energy is here to stay and energy companies plan to remain key players

• Consumer demand, financial players, and government policies are pushing ESG investments 

• Oil and gas companies are publicizing efforts to reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change

• Hydrogen and carbon capture are top solutions

• Cleaner and greener oil and gas are needed as a bridge in the near term

• Technology and innovation are vital for meeting emissions goals

Dan Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit, the information and insights company that puts on CERAWeek, said, “The big cross-cutting themes that jump out this week are hydrogen, carbon capture, innovation—and the need for large companies with engineering capabilities that can operate at scale—which is where the oil and gas industry happens to be.”

Not surprisingly, Biden’s climate policies were a big topic of conversation. John Kerry, global envoy for climate change and former secretary of state, shared optimism (article is behind a paywall) on clean energy technologies and markets. 

Other topics of conversation were centered around oil companies’ initiatives, natural gas, hydrogen, and, of course, money. 

Oil and Gas Players Push ESG

In 2020, ESG funds attracted $51.1 billion of new money. “More and more dollars that are being provisionally managed seem to be following some variant of ESG strategy. It makes wallet sense,” said Stewart Glickman, CFRA energy analyst.

“It’s a fight for survival in the ESG world. It’s not enough now to be the cheapest barrel,” said Helima Croft, head of global commodities strategy at RBC. “You have to be the greenest barrel now. ”

BP CEO Bernard Looney discussed (article is behind a paywall) the oil company’s transition to clean energy, investments in solar and offshore wind, and its 2050 net-zero emissions goal. “We decided to really embrace that energy transition more as an opportunity than as some sort of threat to our core business,” he told the conference. 

CEOs of other big oil and gas producers—including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and ConocoPhillips—echoed similar sentiments as they spoke about the industry transition to a lower carbon world.

Occidental Petroleum CEO VIcki Hollub said, “Net carbon zero oil is what the world needs, and the world cannot achieve the goals ... of the Paris accord without the oil industry helping with that. We can be leaders in that.”

Innovation is Key to Transition

New technologies were on display (virtually) and a big topic of conversation throughout CERAWeek. As tech enthusiasts, we kept our eye on events in the Agora track. Industry leaders know that innovation in green tech is vital to reducing emissions and slowing climate change. 

At the New Horizons for Energy & Climate Research panel, university leaders discussed the role of higher education institutions in the energy transition. Many are developing solutions by connecting science, engineering, business, and public policy disciplines, as well as by partnering with private sector enterprises. 

The magnitude of the energy transition challenge was on display at the Conversations in Cleantech: Powering the Energy Transition panel. Cleantech leaders shared their challenges, successes, and lessons learned as an acceleration of strategic decisions and technologies is needed to make the transition happen.

During How Will the Energy Innovation Ecosystem Evolve?, Barbara Burger, vice president of innovation at Chevron and president at Chevron Technology Ventures discussed the current state of the clean energy innovation ecosystem and the gaps that remain. 

The Role of Natural Gas and Hydrogen

Natural gas is still seen as a bridge in the energy transition. And new hydrogen production technologies are being touted for both the near term and longer horizon.

“We’re bullish on natural gas. Clearly, liquified natural gas has a very important role in the lower carbon economy that we’re all working toward,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told virtual CERAWeek attendees.

Oil companies are spending billions of dollars to develop natural gas projects in anticipation of growing demand. However, executives acknowledged the industry must do more to reduce natural gas leaks and flaring to rein in harmful greenhouse gas emissions such as methane. 

Technology is vital to the efforts to monitor, report, and eliminate methane emissions. Drones, AI, and other unmanned technologies are being deployed around the world for just those purposes. 

We’ll be covering related topics in-depth and LIVE at our upcoming Methane Strategies Forum on April 29 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. CST. EnergyNEXT and Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition join forces to bring you this very timely forum on methane strategies, technology, use cases, innovation, and best practices for energy companies to achieve their energy transition and ESG goals. Registration is coming soon. Contact us today if you’d like to get involved.

Oil and Gas Investments are Needed to Meet Demand

The decapitalization of oil and gas and the reallocation of investments toward renewables continue to place pressure on the energy sector, according to many experts at the CERAWeek.

“One of the drivers for stronger oil demand is the push to renewables because you are going to need oil and gas to support the investment of that push,” said John Hess, CEO of Hess Corp. “The push to cleaner energy is going to require oil and gas to be successful.” 

Amid shifting investor interest to renewables and clean tech, there are still big opportunities for traditional oil and gas companies focused on efficiency and lowering carbon emissions, panelists said (article is behind a paywall).

Watch This Space

Much of what we heard at CERAWeek echoes what we’ve been seeing and covering the past year at EnergyNEXT. We’re keeping our eye on new technologies and projects helping in the transition to clean energy and watching oil and gas companies as they adapt to our new reality. 

What will be, will be. Que sera sera. Or should we say que CERA CERA.