From Paul H. Tice in the WSJ:

The overriding goal is to jack up oil prices by slowing down drilling activity and production growth. Despite strong wellhead economics, energy stock prices continue to lag and underperform nearly four years after the 2014 fall, due to their high correlation with world oil prices. All else equal, most energy companies and investors would prefer to leave oil in the ground until prices rise. Forcing energy companies to live within cash flow by deferring capital spending helps that happen.

That dedicated energy investors are now echoing the arguments of the [environmental-social-governance] movement should motivate the latter to crack open an economics textbook. The basic law of supply and demand suggests that if the ESG movement gained critical mass so that it had a real effect on the cost and availability of capital for fossil-fuel companies, it would likely push oil prices well above the $100-a-barrel mark, generating windfall returns for energy companies—and for those investors who resist peer pressure and maintain exposure to the sector.