The energy crisis revives the appetite of large investment funds for fossil fuels

The earthquake in the energy markets that has unleashed the war in Ukraine has forced the European Union to step on the accelerator to cut ties with Russian supply.

The Old Continent has been experiencing a time trial in two opposite directions for a year.

The first, towards the massive deployment of renewables;

the second, towards new routes to obtain the gas and oil that previously came from Moscow.

In this scenario of maximum economic uncertainty, the large venture capital funds have preferred to bid twice, or what is the same, to

.

A recent report prepared by the energy team in Europe of the

law firm has analyzed the evolution of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that have been closed in the field of energy in 15 European countries during the last year.

The analysis, to which EL MUNDO has had access, concludes that

, in the heat of the turn of some Member States towards traditional energies for fear of the total cut off of Russian supply.

"Although it is true that an increase in fossil fuel operations has been detected in recent years, in the European Union and in Spain, the bulk of the investment is allocated to renewables", qualifies

, head of the Energy group at Anderson in Europe.

The expert is supported by the figures: "The number of transactions is exponentially higher in green energies, which accounted for

of corporate operations in Europe in 2022", and points out,

.

Global economic uncertainty, inflation and the disruptive effect of the war explain the temporary upturn in investor appetite for conventional energy.

"The macroeconomic situation and high energy prices have favored investment in traditional energy sources, which in many cases are more polluting, but which also

," explains

, co-director of Corporate and M&A at Andersen in Spain and head of the practice in Europe.

Everything indicates that the renewed interest in fossil fuels will be punctual.

"Global figures show that corporate operations in clean energy continue to lead, both in number of operations and in volume of investment," Aparicio asserts.

," says Mozún.

Both specialists agree that national and community regulations, which favor the energy transition, and the imminent flood of green projects that in the coming months hope to reach

status in Spain, will be a magnet for investors.

More than new business opportunities, what is perceived in the private capital market is the laziness of the funds to abandon historical positions in companies linked to the hydrocarbons business.

The war has exposed the dangers of energy dependency in Europe, a reality that has forced the Twenty-seven to explore alternatives to the mere renewable frenzy.

Hungary, a landlocked country heavily dependent on Russian gas, is a case in point, as the report reflects.

The war conflict has forced the Hungarian country to

and to seek on the run suppliers to replace Russia.

For a year now, nuances have surfaced in the green discourse of the large investment funds.

In the traditional letter that the

sent to the CEOs of the companies in which they participate in December 2021, when the energy market was already beginning to show signs of a strong distortion: "In the transition to the net zero emissions,

. I remain optimistic for the future and continue to believe that our collective actions today can make a significant difference for years to come."

The first sword of BlackRock, the world's largest investment fund, reported that the firm's investments on behalf of its clients in natural gas pipelines in the Middle East "are a great example of helping countries move from a dark brown to a lighter brown as these nations

."

It should be remembered that the European Union itself modified its taxonomy to include nuclear and gas among "green" technologies.

Not only is Europe's effort to fill its gas stores behind this diversification, market sources agree.

Large hydrocarbon companies across the continent posted record profits last year.

In 2023 they hope to continue the trend.

After 2020, when the slowdown in economic activity due to the pandemic dealt a heavy

to the margins of the oil companies -Repsol or Cepsa closed the year with multimillion-dollar losses-,

, too good as to ignore it, among other things, due to the strong boost to the dividend that most of these groups have approved.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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