Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total, the French oil company, who usually argues for governments to get out of the way of those trying to bring enough energy to the market to satisfy demand, this week said recent events meant lawmakers needed to consider extending a helping hand to environmentally friendly energy sources and technologies made uneconomical by falling oil prices.
Executives say environmental initiatives such as carbon capture and storage must not be abandoned and oilfields need to be developed in an as environmentally friendly way as possible. But Chevron has already warned that Australia's cap and trade initiative could make the development of the Gorgon gas field uneconomical.
Royal Dutch Shell has dropped its proposed investment in plans to build the world's biggest offshore wind farm, the London Array, to concentrate on less risky US onshore wind power.