Petrogon

At Petrogon, we love our planet. That's why, today, we're launching a record-breaking 300 million dollar investment into a wide range of up-and-coming renewable energy technologies. From solar panels to wind turbines to hydroelectric, we believe that Petrogon stands at the forefront of the energy industry, and we look forward to playing a critical role in shaping the sector in the decades to come.

A Petrogon executive announcing sustainable energy investment (worth 4.7% of previous year's profits), August 2006.

Petrogon is a powerful and widely-despised multi-national oil conglomerate.

Petrogon operates across all levels of the oil, gas, and other adjacent industries. This includes extraction, processing into many products, and distribution. They are a recognisable brand and a powerful force shaping government policy around the world.

Petrogon was founded in California in 1902, growing rapidly in the following decades to become an international company. By the 1960s, it had cemented its position as one of the largest oil companies in the world.

As concern about the climate crisis has grown, Petrogon has positioned itself as a forerunner of sustainable energy innovation. It has invested in low-carbon energy sources such as solar and hydroelectric power, as well as the development of carbon capture and storage technology. Nonetheless, as this amounts to only a small proportion of its annual turnover and Petrogon continues to make the majority of its profits from oil and gas, this has been widely criticised as greenwashing.

Prior to the discovery of the anomalies, the popular singer Kerry Payne planned to hold a concert in aid of climate action in Antarctica. The event is sponsored and organised by Petrogon, and will still be taking place for fear of cancellation alerting the wider public to the anomalies.

In addition, Petrogon has had a secretive presence in Antarctica for some time, for the purpose of carrying out research into climate change. Despite the recent anomalous findings at APERIS, these activities are continuing. Indeed, insider rumours are spreading that suggest the findings have actually prompted Petrogon to send more staff to investigate.

In 2005, a major newspaper reported on a leaked research paper, drafted and published internally within Petrogon management in 1988, that confirmed the existence of and examined the impacts of climate change. The paper found that the greenhouse gas emissions from Petrogon's operations had directly exacerbated the situation, and suggested that 'market uncertainty' would begin to significantly affect Petrogon revenues by 2020. Petrogon were criticised for refusing to acknowledge climate change publicly despite having completed this research.

In 2009, an equipment malfunction caused a fire and oil spill at a major Petrogon oil rig in the North Sea. Three workers were killed and the rig was partially destroyed. A damning report found that the event could be attributed to 'recklessness in the pursuit of profits', but a lawsuit against Petrogon was unsuccessful due to a 'lack of reliable evidence'. The site of the accident remains abandoned, and the resulting pollution has left the immediate vicinity uninhabitable.

Inevitably, Petrogon is often the target of environmentalist groups. In particular, Terra Indomita have carried out multiple attacks on Petrogon’s operations. Sceau d'Or has also issued numerous scathing press releases about Petrogon's business practices.

Petrogon has a wide range of procurement contracts with ANCOM.

Petrogon employs tens of thousands of people from a range of backgrounds and specialisms across the world. The following divisions are especially relevant to APERIS, although members of others may also be present:

• The Public Relations Divison are closely involved with the organisation of the Kerry Payne concert.
• The Climate Science Division sends researchers to Antarctica to study the impacts of climate change and what they mean for Petrogon.
• The International Contracts Division may be present to liaise with other factions if the need arises.
• And, of course, the Maintenance and Support Division staff are present at all Petrogon sites to ensure the smooth operation of facilities, as well as to provide people such as chefs and cleaners.

Those who choose to work for Petrogon tend to be reviled due to the corporation's association with climate change and unethical business practices. On the other hand, being able to draw on the expertise, tools and influence of such a heavyweight multinational company has its perks.