There's interesting information in Saudi Aramco's 469-page bond prospectus, beyond the $111 billion net income last year that Axios Generate noted on Monday.
Driving the news: The state oil giant lays out a series of climate and climate-policy related risks to its business, including reduced demand for fossil fuels, litigation, and threats to infrastructure.
The intrigue: The Saudis are increasingly making the case that in a carbon-constrained world, their oil will have market-staying power.
- That's because of its relatively low carbon intensity (that is, emissions per unit of output) compared to other major producers.
- Their prospectus lists the CO2 intensity of Aramco production among their "competitive strengths."
- It also repeatedly highlights a Stanford-led analysis listed last year in the peer-reviewed journal Science that addresses the topic. (Note: Aramco helped fund the research, but the authors of the study said it did not influence the findings.)
What they're saying: "I see it as a recognition of what's important to a large portion of investors and consumers," oil analyst and Saudi expert Ellen Wald told me yesterday.
Flashback: Experts have been predicting that the Saudis would increasingly emphasize this, including Rice University's Jim Krane in a paper last year.
Go deeper ... A petro-tipping point: U.S. to surpass Saudi oil exports
