The Big Picture

Vincent Boland: Big Oil fights back against green energy movement

Chevron and Exxon’s $120bn megadeals were part of a massive pushback against moves towards clean energy, but only on one side of the Atlantic

The share prices of Chevron and Exxon have recovered strongly from their recent low point

For an industry supposedly on its last legs, Big Oil is having quite a moment. Two of the world’s largest oil companies struck deals worth a combined $120 billion in the past few days to buy oil assets. The acquisitions add to their already considerable reserves of the stuff, and come as climate campaigners and even the energy industry’s own brains trust press them to prepare for the end of the fossil fuel era.

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