I strongly suggest you read the whole AFR article.Buffet &...

I strongly suggest you read the whole AFR article.
Buffet & Berkshire Hathaway are stating (&, importantly, investing heavily in!) that gas & oil have a long term future (&, IMO, by implication, thermal coal also)- as they are all essential for the long process to achieve the energy transition to renewables.

(Fossil fuels are crucial for baseload power, & energy security- my interpretations of Hathaway's huge investments in gas & oil).
Bodes very well for STO.

AFR K. Crowley 3.8.23 said

"Warren Buffett’s multibillion-dollar purchases of oil and gas investments early in the pandemic paid off when the sectorcranked out record earningslast year. But instead of selling out for a huge profit this year, the Oracle of Omaha wants more.

Berkshire Hathaway is using this year’s dip in commodity prices to load up on some of Buffett’s favourite oil and gas investments, showing that history’s most famous investor sees opportunity in a sector long disfavoured because of its volatility and effects on the climate.

Earlier this month, Berkshire agreed to spend $US3.3 billion ($5.1 billion) to boost its stake in a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Maryland. This year it has also increased its holding in Occidental Petroleum by 15 per cent and bought more stock infive Japanese commodity traders. Meanwhile, Berkshire’s energy division is lobbying hard for a bill that would lead to Texas spending at least $US10 billion on natural gas-fired power plants to back up its grid.

On one level, it’s classic bargain-hunting by Buffett and Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger. Persistent concerns over the sector’s environmental, social and governance performance, poor pre-pandemic returns and the risk of declining demand for fossil fuels in the DECADES ahead (ie a very long transition- my words) have soured many investors on the industry. Energy trades at the lowest price-to-earnings valuation of any sector in the S&P 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But it also generates the most cash flow per share.

“People are missing the economics that Buffett and Munger are looking at,” said Cole Smead, chief executive of Smead Capital Management, which manages $US5.4 billion, including Berkshire and Occidental shares. “The returns on capital in COAL (all my emphases), oil and gas are off the charts compared with other sectors. And with ESG, you can buy them cheaper than you otherwise would” ".

https://www.copyright link/wealth/investing/buffett-is-making-a-killing-from-esg-but-not-the-way-you-think-20230803-p5dtkv?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nc&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1691197893

(To open article fully, Google "facebook AFR Crowley- then the words in the link directly above).