Specialist support for ESG for oil and gas financing

Finance for oil and gas companies comes from multiple sources. Although the mix may have changed over the last few years – be it equity from traditional institutional investors, family offices, private equity groups, oil traders and the public markets or debt from banks or funds – one constant is that all of the above now demand greater scrutiny into ESG policies and actions. 

Although increased energy security and supply fluctuations have complicated the situation, ESG conformance and compliance is still required by funders. The political and supply situations have resulted in certain funding entities moving beyond pure negative screening. Instead, they are engaging with companies through interaction to ascertain their ESG strategies and ensure that (1) their reporting and verification is fit for purpose and (2) it accurately reflects actual actions on the ground.

These requirements will only intensify as we move through the energy transition phase of the industry.  The oil and gas finance cycle has become increasingly challenging in recent years, as projects face more scrutiny to ensure that they conform to climate change targets, human rights and ‘social licence to operate’ norms, with proper stewardship from company boards. In this changing arena, there are also new investment and product options to consider as a result, such as those offering incentives for ‘advantaged barrels’.

How RPS supports the oil and gas industry with ESG for access to finance

Oil and gas has its own specific set of ESG considerations to navigate, from tough regulatory/permitting rules for land and sea use through to differences between regional expectations for workplace safety, business practices and environmental standards.

Third-party verifications can be necessary to ensure that a company complies with the various guarantees given to its funding stakeholders. RPS can:

• Help build or advise on changes needed in corporate ESG strategies, with oil and gas financing in mind.
• Provide verification for funders looking for compliance checks.

Reporting ESG data accurately and transparently is paramount to proving a company’s ESG policies are effective and are being carried out by its operational personnel. RPS can provide the people and the tools to ensure this data is collected and reported in a manner that is satisfactory to the various funding stakeholders, whilst ensuring confidentiality and data security.

We provide seasoned Oil and Gas professionals experienced in ESG delivery, alongside specialist ESG advisors. We are ready and able to assist you in managing and integrating these non-technical risks against your project planning horizon, minimising costly project delays, negative press and reputational damage.

See also: RPS provides geotechnical expertise to value oil and gas assets through its traditional Competent Person's Reports (CPR), required for raising money on the capital markets, or to support merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.