Author(s): Anu Abraham,Sapan Thapar
This study adopts a comparative benchmarking perspective to examine how major upstream oil and gas companies are responding to the global energy transition amid intensifying climate commitments, investor expectations, and national net-zero targets. Six companies representing diverse ownership structures and strategic orientations; ONGC, Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, and Equinor—are analysed across three dimensions: perceived urgency of energy transition, fossil-fuel production reduction strategies, and investments in low-carbon technologies including solar, wind, hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and battery storage. A mixed-method quantitative approach is employed, integrating descriptive statistics, repeated-measures analysis, panel regression, principal component analysis, and K-means clustering to identify comparative patterns, strategic associations, and transition typologies across firms. The results indicate that reductions in oil and petroleum-product dependence are more pronounced than reductions in natural-gas activities. Furthermore, investments in wind energy and hydrogen technologies exhibit the strongest association with renewable-energy capital expenditure. The analysis also reveals distinct strategic transition pathways: BP, Shell, and Equinor demonstrate broader renewable-energy diversification, while Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil emphasise hydrogen and CCUS-based decarbonisation strategies. ONGC exhibits a more selective transition approach, characterised by diversification into renewable-energy initiatives alongside emerging low-carbon investments. The findings suggest that energy-transition trajectories are shaped not only by external regulatory and market pressures but also by firm-specific strategic priorities and technological preferences. Within the scope of the selected sample, the study contributes to the literature on corporate decarbonisation by providing a comparative benchmarking framework for evaluating transition pathways among major upstream oil and gas companies and informing future policy and investment decisions.