Renewable Energy Sources in The Project Portfolio of Extractive Companies

International oil and gas companies are increasingly becoming active participants in the renewable energy market (RES) as part of the implementation of the energy transition strategy. Basically, companies pursue the goal of diversifying their activities and increasing sustainability both in the short and long term in the context of the changing environment in the global energy market. Russian oil and gas companies do not yet set themselves the task of actively developing renewable energy sources as a separate line of business. The renewable energy projects in which they participate are mainly aimed at meeting the needs for electricity in the framework of their core activities. At the same time, oil and gas companies could position themselves not only as consumers of «green» energy, but also as active market participants in the early stages of its development. The authors investigated the directions of «green» investments of extractive companies. Despite realizing the seriousness of the climate agenda, companies invest only 3–5% of the budget in clean technologies. The experience of foreign companies testifies to the use of renewable energy sources exclusively for their own energy consumption needs at facilities remote from centralized supply systems. At the same time, it was determined that renewable energy projects, depending on the size, pay off in 10–15 years. In addition, hybrid mechanisms are gaining popularity, combining elements of renewable energy sources and traditional diesel generation. Technologies combining solar/wind power plants and storage capacities are already being tested. Development in the field of renewable energy allows to reduce their cost, which ultimately affects the economies of scale in the dissemination of clean and affordable energy.

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