The Permian Basin is driving U.S. oil and gas production growth for Chevron Corp., helped by low development costs, substantial efficiency improvements
Energy investors throughout the Permian Basin and the world are considering aspects beyond financial success and production levels, opting to also look at how companies react to environmental and social issues when choosing where to put their money.
Initiatives in environmental, social and governance, known as “ESG” in the industry, came into prominence in recent years and were pushed into the foreground of the fossil fuel investment community with recent efforts by the new administration of President Joe Biden to address climate change along with a societal trend toward such issues.
Nick Volkmer, vice president of ESG and renewables for energy industry analytics firm Enverus, formerly Drillinginfo, said the push for ESG initiatives is mostly driven by investor concerns that companies are addressing environmental and social issues along with producing oil and natural gas.