The Oil Machine (2022) on Netflix

Plot summary

Oil came to underpin the British economy, from fields discovered off Scotland to their privatization during the Thatcher era. COP26 in Glasgow has put climate action at the center of public debate, and pressure on the government and oil companies keeps growing. Oil executives argue they can keep drilling and still meet Net Zero goals by adopting technologies such as carbon capture, while climate scientists are skeptical that these tools can work quickly enough. New fields such as Cambo, off Shetland, are licensed even though critics say this conflicts with the Paris Climate Agreement. The film draws on oil executives, economists, pension fund managers, a union organizer and young activists, and looks at offshore rigs, buried pipelines and the oil trade in London, where workers, investors and campaigners weigh a transition away from oil and gas.