26.01.202113:31 Forex Analysis & Reviews: The turning point of the European oil industry

Last year, Europe's three largest oil and gas companies - Total, BP and Royal Dutch Shell - announced plans of eliminating most of the greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and fuels. This marked a turning point for the region's oil industry, making it stand out from big US companies which have yet to make such promises.

According to the data compiled by Bloomberg, Total has acquired the most renewable electricity - about 8.8 gigawatts in operation, construction or development - through acquisitions. One example is the $ 2.5 billion deal with Indian renewable energy company, Adani Green Energy Ltd.

"Total has been a relatively early driving force among major oil companies in preparing for the energy transition," said Will Hares, analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "It has the largest installed or developed renewable energy capacity, and has the most ambitious capacity expansion targets," he added.

In Bloomberg Intelligence, Total has a rating of 9.33 out of 10, compared to BP, which has a rate of 8.4, or Shell, which was rated 6.6.

BP was the first of the three companies to offer elimination of emissions, buying 2.2 gigawatts of wind power and signing a $ 1.1 billion deal with Equinor.

Meanwhile, Shell is the only member of the trio to have not struck a multi-billion dollar clean energy deal since announcing the elimination of emissions in April.

In any case, all three companies have announced numerous small, undisclosed deals, from electric vehicle charging networks to biogas producers.

But most investors remain skeptical of the companies' upfront costs of generating clean energy. They fear that renewable energy revenue would not match oil and gas revenue.

In the meantime, Iraq has pledged to cut production this January and February, after exceeding its OPEC quota last year. Libya has also suspended oil exports due to a wage dispute. Crude oil was also supported by renewed growth in global equity markets, since investors have recently focused on the possibility of additional economic stimulus. Saudi Arabia also decided to unilaterally continue its production cut next month.

All these events provide an opportunity for growth, which has stopped over the past week and a half.

This is why Jeremy Weir, Executive Chairman and CEO of Trafigura, is convinced that oil prices will rise again.