Press Conference: National Oil Companies and Energy Transition Challenges (COP28 Blue Zone Event)

As public entities, national oil companies (or NOCs) are owned by the citizens of oil-producing countries, many of which face persistent poverty and high inequality. At this press conference three experts spoke on national oil companies, climate and energy transition for insights on NOCs and what is at stake at COP28.

Topics and speakers

Risky bets and public funds. Despite the imperative to transition beyond fossil fuels, NOCs are planning $1.8 trillion on oil and gas developments and expansions over the next 10 years. Seventy-one percent of these investments will only turn a profit if humanity fails to meet the 1.5 C target. A quarter of the total NOC investment will be unprofitable if oil demand falls to 55 million barrels a day, which is in line with the International Energy Agency’s Announced Pledges Scenario.

NRGI's Denis Gyeyir briefed on these and other findings from Riskier Bets, Smaller Pockets: How National Oil Companies are Spending Public Money Amid the Energy Transition, a new research publication from the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI). Questions on another recent NRGI report, Facing the Future: What National Oil Companies Say About the Energy Transition, were also welcome.

Finance and investors. NOCs face increasing uncertainties due to changing energy systems. But financial actors’ approaches are currently not aligned with the need to mainstream climate considerations into NOC business models. 

IISD's Natalie Jones shared insights on how financial actors can support NOCs’ just and ambitious low-carbon transition, based on new analysis by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the World Benchmarking Alliance, and the University of California Santa Barbara.

Just transition. Just transition for oil and gas producers is a relatively new area, particularly their role in helping their countries achieve a just transition – in terms of economic diversification, jobs, communities, revenue management, contracting and governance. 

Glada Lahn of Chatham House shared early findings from new research on what just transition means for middle-income oil and gas producing countries, focusing on the cases of Colombia and Nigeria. This research is being led by Chatham House, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and national researchers in Colombia and Nigeria.

This event was livestreamed on the UNFCCC website. 

To arrange interviews, contact:

• Lee Bailey, in London, at lbailey@resourcegovernance.org, +44 (0)7447 560488
• Gabriela Flores, in Dubai, at gflores@resourcegovernance.org, +44 (0)7931 924934