Start your new year with this list of company engagement topics to support your conversations with the European oil and gas majors.

Our team has done the work to assess transition plans and performance and summarised the most critical topics for you.

Companies included are: BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies and Eni.

We see a company ahead of its peers in disclosing where it will invest in transition and some of the most ambitious emissions reduction targets behind Eni. However, it is also trying to appease traditional oil and gas shareholders, parading its sizable reserves that are available to drive high levels of oil and gas production post-2040 into 2050. 

Momentum on decarbonisation requires maximum ambition, not a midway approach.

What critical transition elements must BP address to transition to a valuable low carbon business?

The opportunity for Shell now is to better quantify how its focus on sector-specific customer decarbonisation will contribute to its emissions reductions.

What do we want to see from Shell in FY24?

Where it is doing well is its investment in low carbon, leading peers alongside BP at ~30-50%, and the build-out of its renewable pipeline 12-16GW.

Strategic discipline and a longer-term view are required if Equinor is to diversify its energy mix beyond oil and gas production.

What do we want to see from Equinor in FY24?

However, TotalEnergies has the most aggressive oil and gas growth strategies in the medium term (19%), and the least ambitious emissions targets alongside Equinor compared to peers.

What do we want to see from TotalEnergies in FY24?

Transition may be at risk as Eni lags peers in low-carbon capex ambitions and, next to TotalEnergies, has one of the most aggressive oil and gas growth strategies to FY30 (16%).

What do we want to see from Eni in FY24?