Good morning, here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Oil Investors No Longer Care about Net Zero

• California Sues Big Oil

• Upcoming Oil and Gas Events

• Tweet of the Day

California Sues Big Oil

The state of California has filed a lawsuit against five Big Oil majors, alleging they downplayed the risks associated with their products.

Per Gov. Gavin Newsom, “California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable."

It’s all about money, really

The X post from the governor’s office reads like an apocalyptic vision.

“Wildfires wiping out entire communities,” “deadly heat waves,” and “toxic smoke clogging our air.”

It’s an instant classic.

But in the end, California’s Governor wants to milk Big Oil because he can.

It makes perfect sense if you think about it.

All those billions spent on wind and solar and EV subsidies sooner or later start to bite.

And it’s probably not a good idea to tax fuels even more, with California’s prices.

So they’re going after Exxon, BP, Shell, Chevron, and Conoco, as well as the API.

If the lawsuit succeeds, California will set up “an abatement fund to pay for future damages caused by climate-related disasters in the state,” per Reuters.

Of course, it will.

Meet Big Oil, the cash cow

There have been dozens of lawsuits against Big Oil in the past few years.

The accusations are basically identical: they knew about emissions and said nothing.

Now, they must pay.

Because, you know, other industries are eager to discourage their customers from using their products.

Not to mention all the scientists who disagree with the emissions narrative as a whole.

But with emissions so hot right now, Big Oil is a natural target.

And a fittingly big one.

After all, with the transition getting so expensive and all, suing to make some money is the obvious choice.

The question is if the lawsuit will succeed.

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Oil Investors No Longer Care about Net Zero

Oil company shareholders are more concerned with energy security than net zero, a recent industry gathering has revealed.

Apparently, all it took was a year of record profits.

The U-turn from green dreams to hard realities

The gathering in question was the World Petroleum Congress in Canada.

There, it emerged that being an executive at a large oil company has become a very interesting job.

On the one hand, you have regulators and activists trying to squeeze the life out of you.

On the other, you have shareholders that once again love oil and gas.

(Except for those who’d like lower dividends and higher transition investments, that is.)

What do you do?

Well, Shell’s Wael Sawan basically canceled previous lofty transition goals.

Earlier this year, he said Shell will refocus its attention on its core business.

BP’s unfortunate Bernard Looney did pretty much the same…

…just two years after he announced the loftiest transition goals in the industry.

“How do we manage the transition without leaving people in energy poverty?”

This is a very good question posed by the chair of the World Petroleum Congress.

The answer is really simple, too.

It goes like this: Forget the transition; make sure people have affordable energy first.

I mean, if the last few years have shown us one thing, it’s that the transition makes energy more, not less expensive.

And it has not exactly done anything for emissions, either.

So, what is the point of the whole thing?

It would probably go down in history as the most expensive doomed experiment ever.

Upcoming Oil & Gas Events

• September 17-20: GPA Midstream Annual Convention, San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, TX

• September 17-21: 24th World Petroleum Conference, Stampede Park, Calgary, Canada

• September 19-21: North Dakota Petroleum Council Annual Meeting, Watford City, ND

• September 21: Southeast Ohio Oil and Gas Association Annual Trade Show, Marietta, OH

Around the Global Patch

🇮🇷 Iran's latest move nudges closer to new U.S. nuclear deal.
🇨🇳 China's diesel exports triple.
🇸🇩 Fire engulfs Sudanese oil office amid ongoing Civil War.

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