Carbon capital: The lexicon and allegories of US hydrocarbon finance. Issue 2 (3rd April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Field, Sean
• Is Part Of: Economy and society. Volume 51:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 235
• Page End: 258
• Publication Date: 2022-04-03
• Subjects: hydrocarbons -- extraction -- energy -- ethics -- financialization -- economization; Economics -- Sociological aspects -- Periodicals; Economics -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1080/03085147.2022.2030606
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-5147

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with energy financiers in Houston, Texas, this paper explores how experts use a lexicon of models and metrics to conceptualize and construct allegories about future hydrocarbon projects and companies. I show that allegorical narratives built with this lexicon advance a kind of energy ethics – distinguishing what is good and advocating for particular hydrocarbon futures. As the energy industry pivots toward renewables, I conclude that these metrics, models and allegories are coming to bear on new forms of extraction. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the financial and managerial processes on which extractive energy practices are imagined, valued and decided.