Shell (SHEL), TotalEnergies (TTE) and Equinor (EQNR) are among oil and gas companies that have evaluated European utilities for potential takeovers, with targets including wind and solar producers such as Iberdrola (OTCPK:IBDRY), Orsted (OTCPK:DNNGY) and SSE Renewables (OTCPK:SSEZY), Bloomberg reported Friday.
The surge in profits and cash holdings at the oil majors in the last six months could mean a major takeover is within reach, according to the report, although discussions so far have been entirely preliminary with no sign of any imminent action.
The takeover of a major clean energy producer by a big oil company would not mean the world hits emissions targets any sooner, but it could help the buyer surpass its peers in the race to adapt to a low-carbon future.
European oil majors are racking up record profits thanks to high prices for oil products: Shell (SHEL) has said it expects its refining profits to nearly triple and add $1B to net income, while BP (BP) reported its largest quarterly profit in a decade.