Oil & Gas: Climate & GHG disclosures

Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: changing crude oil and natural gas prices and demand for the company’s products, and production curtailments due to market conditions; crude oil production quotas or other actions that might be imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries; technological advancements; changes to government policies in the countries in which the company operates; public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics, and any related government policies and actions; disruptions in the company’s global supply chain, including supply chain constraints and escalation of the cost of goods and services; changing economic, regulatory and political environments in the various countries in which the company operates, including Venezuela; general domestic and international economic, market and political conditions, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and the global response to these hostilities; changing refining, marketing and chemicals margins; the company’s ability to realize anticipated cost savings and efficiencies associated with enterprise structural cost reduction initiatives; actions of competitors or regulators; timing of exploration expenses; changes in projected future cash flows; timing of crude oil liftings; uncertainties about the estimated quantities of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas reserves; the competitiveness of alternate-energy sources or product substitutes; pace and scale of the development of large carbon capture and storage and offset markets; the results of operations and financial condition of the company’s suppliers, vendors, partners and equity affiliates; the inability or failure of the company’s joint-venture partners to fund their share of operations and development activities; the potential failure to achieve expected net production from existing and future crude oil and natural gas development projects; potential delays in the development, construction or start-up of planned projects; the potential disruption or interruption of the company’s operations due to war, accidents, political events, civil unrest, severe weather, cyber threats, terrorist acts, or other natural or human causes beyond the company’s control; the potential liability for remedial actions or assessments under existing or future environmental regulations and litigation; significant operational, investment or product changes undertaken or required by existing or future environmental statutes and regulations, including international agreements and national or regional legislation and regulatory measures related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change; the potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation; the company’s ability to achieve…

Additionally, international climate initiatives, such as the United Nations Conference of the Parties summits, continue to shape the global response to climate change. These summits can lead to commitments from numerous countries to meet the objectives of agreements like the Paris Agreement, through adopting country level regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The implementation of current agreements and regulatory or judicial measures, as well as any future agreements or measures addressing climate change and GHG emissions, may adversely increase our capital and operating expenses, impact the demand for our products, impose taxes on our products or operations, or require us to purchase emission credits or reduce emissions of GHGs from our operations. As a result, we may incur substantial capital expenditures and compliance, operating, maintenance and remediation costs, any of which may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

For more information on legislation or precursors for possible regulation relating to global climate change that affect or could affect our operations and a description of the company's response, see the "Contingencies—Climate Change” and "—Company Response to Climate-Related Risks" sections of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Broader investor and societal attention to and efforts to address global climate change may limit who can do business with us or our access to financial markets and could subject us to litigation.

Attention to global climate change has also resulted in pressure from and upon stockholders, financial institutions and other financial market participants to potentially limit or discontinue investments, insurance and funding to oil and gas companies. For example, a significant number of financial institutions have pledged to meet the goal of net zero by 2050, as well as setting interim targets for 2030 or earlier. While these targets do not prohibit financial sector stakeholders from doing business with oil and gas companies, stakeholders may self-impose limits. Conversely, we also face pressure from some in the investment community and certain public interest groups to limit the focus on ESG in our decision-making, arguing that ESG considerations do not relate to financial outcomes. As public pressure continues to mount on the financial sector, our costs of capital may increase.