Big Oil Boosts Exploration as Energy Transition Sputters

After years of public vows to wean themselves off fossil fuels, the world’s biggest oil companies are dusting off their drilling maps and doubling down on exploration. The promised pivot to renewables has sputtered, energy security fears have sharpened, and the payoff from oil and gas remains too rich to ignore. Now, from the Gulf of Mexico to Namibia, Big Oil is chasing new barrels in a world that, by its own admission, will still be burning them for decades. After spending the early 2020s promising a gradual reduction in fossil fuel production…