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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Benchmarking Corporate Resilience and Sustainability – a framework for assessing corporate positioning in the face of uncertainty and risk

Andrew Harwood A *
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A Wood Mackenzie Asia Pacific, Singapore.

* Correspondence to: andrew.harwood@woodmac.com

The APPEA Journal 63 S73-S76 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22027
Accepted: 16 February 2023   Published: 11 May 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.

Abstract

Low carbon is still a key stock market theme, but war and changing economic conditions through 2022 have placed greater emphasis on the security of supply. Yet our longstanding view still holds: the energy transition will happen, and oil and gas companies have significant value at risk. In the face of tightening carbon policies or the eventual decline in oil and gas demand, companies that fail to adapt to the emerging low-carbon world will suffer a deterioration in market rating. Plotting a strategy for the energy transition has become more complex than ever. Satisfying investors, government and public stakeholders while pursuing secure, affordable and sustainable sources of energy requires a delicate balance. Unanticipated shocks like the global pandemic or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine make strategic planning a veritable high-wire act. The complexity in mapping out an approach to the energy transition makes it even harder to benchmark the different strategies companies may employ. How are companies positioned to navigate the energy transition over the coming decades? Which companies are best situated to handle shocks to the market in the next few years? We believe these questions of near-term resilience and long-term sustainability can be answered by examining (a) a company’s financial position and scale, (b) its portfolio outlook and (c) its carbon exposure and transition strategy. Building on these concepts of Corporate Resilience and Sustainability, we can compare the strategies of Australia’s largest energy players against their international peers. We can highlight their strengths, weaknesses and areas for focus. We can show you what ‘best-in-class’ looks like.

Keywords: balance sheet strength, benchmarking, carbon, cash flow, corporate analysis, CoRSI, decarbonisation, diversification, emissions, energy transition, financial position, framework, international oil companies, low carbon, new energy, portfolio, resilience, resource themes, strategy, sustainability.

Andrew Harwood, Research Director, Corporate/Upstream Research, Wood Mackenzie. Andrew is responsible for Wood Mackenzie’s corporate coverage in Asia Pacific, providing analysis of the leading Asia-headquartered national and international oil companies. Andrew also contributes to Wood Mackenzie’s upstream research in Asia Pacific, working closely with the analyst teams in Delhi, Perth and Singapore. During his time with Wood Mackenzie, Andrew has supported several consultancy projects, including fiscal benchmarking, corporate strategy analysis, growth opportunity screening, portfolio valuation, and infrastructure studies. Based in Singapore since 2010, Andrew specialises in providing insight on global upstream themes, corporate strategy for national and international oil companies, merger and acquisition trends, exploration performance, and fiscal benchmarking. Andrew holds a BA combined studies degree in Management and Investment Finance with Honours from Heriot Watt University.


References

Parker L, Beeker A, Mielke E, Polk R (2022) Benchmarking the IOCs: Resilience and Sustainability. (Wood Mackenzie) Available at https://my.woodmac.com/document/150029995