Oil & Gas

Four major international oil companies TotalEnergies (France), BP (UK), Equinor (Norway), and Shell (multinational) have announced a joint commitment to invest $500 million to improve electricity access in the Global South.

The investment aims to support global energy security by enhancing access to affordable energy, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

The $500 million investment represents approximately 0.7% of the combined $70 billion net profit the four companies earned in 2023, according to data from the Washington-based Specialty Energy Platform.

This funding will be allocated over several years through tenders for projects that span the entire energy value chain, including solar power systems, small-scale grids, energy storage, clean cooking technologies like LPG, and electric mobility.

The announcement was made at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, where global leaders are discussing how to raise $1 trillion in climate finance from wealthier countries to assist developing nations.

The funding commitment aligns with the summit's goals of addressing climate-related challenges and increasing the flow of finance to the Global South to support sustainable development and energy access.

BP’s CEO, Murray Ochinclus, stated that while it's too early to assess the full impact, the hope is that the joint investment will contribute to overcoming the significant challenges of providing affordable energy.

This initiative comes alongside TotalEnergies' separate $400 million investment to expand LPG cooking solutions in Africa and India by 2030, emphasizing the critical role of private sector investment in closing the climate finance gap.