The European Commission has approved state aid worth €5.2bn for a second wave of hydrogen related Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), helping to reduce dependence on natural gas and accelerate the hydrogen economy.

The GBP3.3 million funding through the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development and Demonstration (AMR RD&D) programme - part of the GBP385 million Advanced Nuclear Fund - will support the development of innovative nuclear technology in the UK, such as high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).

The growing emphasis on ESG is a key component in the upstream oil and gas industry.

This is part of the GBP1.7 billion of new direct government funding to develop a large-scale nuclear project announced in October.

The legislation is aimed at reducing carbon emissions and shifting consumers to green energy,

Al-Ghais noted that oil investments have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. He said it is difficult to forecast oil markets due to the current global economic conditions.

TotalEnergies said it would boost spending on short-cycle projects this year to help ease Europe's growing energy supply crunch. It expects its full-year capital spending to hit $16 billion in 2022 as it hopes to increase its sources of European natural gas and produce more LNG in the coming months.

Saudi Arabia would be looking to secure investments in untapped business sectors, including green hydrogen, renewable energy, and information technology.

The company boosted coal production by 6.2% to 300 million tons and increased sales to 390 million tons.

The two programs – the Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program and the Carbon Dioxide Transport/Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Program – are funded by a more than $2.6 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.