Energy transition ambitions of four national oil and gas companies in South America

The report examines Ecopetrol, Petrobras, YPF, and EP Petroecuador, finding that while some have stated ambitions for unrelated diversification, these efforts are not a priority compared to decarbonizing existing fossil fuel operations. The authors argue that these NOGCs face significant institutional, financial, and technical barriers that limit their capacity to transition away from their core hydrocarbon businesses.

• For the four South American NOGCs studied, diversification into new low-carbon businesses is a component of their strategy but is not the primary priority for decarbonization.
• The NOGCs' current climate strategies focus primarily on reducing operational emissions and shifting toward natural gas rather than structurally moving away from fossil fuels.
• Ecopetrol, Petrobras, and YPF have included unrelated diversification in their long-term strategies, whereas EP Petroecuador lacks such plans, focusing instead on efficiency and reducing environmental impacts.
• Actual financial commitment to unrelated diversification is low, with most NOGCs allocating less than 1% of total capital expenditure to businesses outside their core areas.
• Ecopetrol and YPF have demonstrated more advanced unrelated diversification through specific actions: Ecopetrol acquired a majority stake in Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. ESP (ISA), and YPF launched YPF Litio for lithium extraction and battery manufacturing.
• NOGCs are limited by institutional inertia and a dependence on fossil fuel revenues, which creates a need for clear government mandates to accelerate diversification.

APA

Strambo, C., Almeida, P. C., & Arond, E. (2023). Energy transition ambitions of four national oil and gas companies in South America. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sei2023.059-national-oil-and-gas-companies.pdf

Chicago

Strambo, Claudia, Patricio Calles Almeida, and Elisa Arond. Energy transition ambitions of four national oil and gas companies in South America. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2023. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sei2023.059-national-oil-and-gas-companies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Strambo |first1=Claudia |last2=Almeida |first2=Patricio Calles |last3=Arond |first3=Elisa |title=Energy transition ambitions of four national oil and gas companies in South America |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=November 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sei2023.059-national-oil-and-gas-companies.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{strambo2023energy, author = {Strambo, Claudia and Almeida, Patricio Calles and Arond, Elisa}, title = {{Energy transition ambitions of four national oil and gas companies in South America}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sei2023.059-national-oil-and-gas-companies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }