Shale Adviser Tudor Pickering to Start Research on Clean Tech

(Bloomberg) -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., an investment bank that helped fund the U.S. shale revolution, will initiate research on companies offering new energy technologies, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said.

As soon as this year, the Houston-based firm will launch equity research on companies focusing on technologies such as carbon capture, wind and solar power and batteries, said the person, who asked not be named because the information isn't yet public. The effort, which will leverage the existing team of about 30 analysts, is being led by Matthew Portillo, manager of upstream research, the person said. While shale drillers and service providers will continue to be part of the team's focus, the number of oil and gas companies covered will be pared.

Rusty D'Anna, head of institutional equity sales and trading at Tudor Pickering, declined to comment.

This pivot comes after co-founder Bobby Tudor early this year warned about seismic shifts coming to the energy industry as concerns about climate change mount. While oil and gas will continue to play a critical role for decades to come, investors also have been frustrated by years of anemic returns from shale explorers.

Portillo's team will also seek to identify oil and gas producers that are striving to cut emissions, as well as companies that help them achieve that with new technology, the person said.

Formed in 2004 with a focus on shale, the firm became the energy arm of Perella Weinberg Partners LP following a 2016 merger.

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