Once Seen as Industry Savior, Petrochemicals Losing Financial Appeal 2

Core measuring tools are lacking that would specify and quantify changes—such as the emissions that are eliminated or transferred, the aspects of the economic chain that are measurable, and the evaluation of a complex web of chemical products and co-products in industrial processes. [...] This problem has reached international attention, with the United Nations supporting development of a major legally binding reform initiative.3 Yet the large companies in the integrated oil and gas and petrochemical business continue to plan for the expansion of the industry. [...] Today, its share is 4.5%.4 In October 2020, the industry hit a bottom of 2% of the stock market.5 • In eight of the ten years before the Ukraine invasion, the oil and gas industry lagged the market. [...] The integrated oil and gas subsector is the poorest performing component of the energy sector.36 The company is a top 10 producer of ethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene and propylene. [...] It is anticipated that policy interventions and market forces are likely to reshape the market over the next two decades.60 These risks are known, and ExxonMobil is the oil and gas major with the greatest carbon exposure.61 The fact that the company projects flat prospects for chemicals,62 in IEEFA’s view, is a tacit acknowledgement of the weak position of the petrochemical component in the compan.