VANCOUVER – Last year, shares of oil and gas stocks outperformed more eco-friendly companies that targeted ESG-focused investors. Despite this apparent divergence, there’s been a movement towards making O&G stocks more ESG friendly. Here now are FOUR O&G companies that not only are performing well, but are becoming increasingly more ESG friendly: Civitas Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CIVI), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHK).

Civitas Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CIVI)

Ben Dell, co-founder and Managing Partner of the private equity firm Kimmeridge Energy Management—the largest shareholder in Civitas Resources—it’s possible to produce traditional energy sources with reduced carbon emissions.

Civitas produces oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado, and is billed as “Colorado’s first carbon-neutral oil and gas producer.”

“My real ambition is to see oil and gas companies like Civitas added back to ESG funds,” said Dell, stating he hopes ESG funds would go on to “understand that the company is already reducing its emission footprint and has offset its footprint and is delivering a net zero product.”

After closing a large $346 million acquisition of Denver-Julesburg Basin operator Bison Oil & Gas II, Dell who was already serving as Chairman of the company, officially took over as interim CEO of Civitas.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental has announced plans for 70 plants to capture carbon from the air by 2035. Construction on the first direct air capture plant that’s planned is expected to start in H2 2022, with startup scheduled for late 2024, with the cost per plant expected to cost $1 billion.

“Corporations and CEOs are realizing that for us to mitigate climate change in the world, it’s absolutely necessary that we take steps now,” said Vicki Hollub CEO of Occidental. “This is a sure opportunity and a way that we can definitively store and keep captured CO2 either underground or through products for forever, and it’s a path for others to make their path sustainable too.”

Occidental is also investing $100 million this year to develop three carbon sequestration hubs by 2025. The company claims it’s on track to secure more than 100,000 net acres this year for these sequestration hubs, including for multiple sequestration sites on the Gulf Coast.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)

Earlier this year Chevron made its biggest bet so far in company history into alternative fuels, through a $3.15 billion acquisition of biodiesel maker Renewable Energy. While biodiesel and renewable diesel use similar feedstocks, renewable diesel undergoes a separate refining process to make it chemically identical to ultra-low-sulfur diesel.

"Most people see (biodiesel) as growing in the U.S. and Southeast Asia ... and view it as a blendstock to get optimum margin because it's less expensive than renewable diesel," said Mark Nelson, Executive VP of Downstream and Chemicals for Chevron, in an interview with Reuters.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHK)

In an effort to pursue Responsibly Sourced Gas (RSG) certification and potentially triple its Haynesville gas production, Chesapeake made a big splash with the acquisition of Vine Energy to be the biggest producer in the region by far.

While the deal was valued at approximately $2.2 billion, Chesapeake previously announced the acquisition as a “zero premium” transaction.

“We are pleased to integrate the outstanding Vine operations and assets into our portfolio, strengthening our position in the Haynesville Shale with over 900 additional drilling locations, immediately improving our free cash flow profile and accelerating a significant return of capital to our shareholders at a time of favorable natural gas prices,” said Nick Dell’Osso, Chesapeake’s President and CEO, in a company release.