Weekly Extract | Energy vs Oil

Week of March 7 to 11

In the energy fight, renewable sources seem to have black gold on the ropes.

As oil soars volatile in tune with the war only to eventually fall, many are questioning whether this energy source is relevant and appropriate for today. The displeasure of dependence on this commodity by both industries and end-consumers has been noted as sensitive budgets are quickly affected by rising prices.

Because of this, many large investment banks, such as Citi, have been reducing their participation in the hydrocarbon market significantly since 2021 and have accelerated this offloading of assets from their portfolios due to current events. Consequently, Credit Suisse has recently communicated that they plan to cut their oil and derivatives portfolio in half by 2030.

Renewable Energies

At the same time, renewable energies, mainly nuclear energy, have been capturing the attention of investors, governments and consumers alike in recent weeks.

As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $36 million for 11 projects that seek to increase the use of nuclear power as a reliable source of clean energy and limit the amount of radioactive waste produced by advanced reactors.

Therefore, the United States and Ghana have announced their partnership to support Ghana's adoption of small modular reactor (SMR) technology under the U.S. Department of State's Fundamental Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program. To date, the department has announced USD 7.3 million to support FIRST projects worldwide.