Big Oil and Algal Blooms?

High concentrations of some algal strains grown in ponds, will produce relatively large quantities of lipids (fatty materials). It consequently seems feasible to replace fossil fuels, without encroaching on agricultural land. For a time, this possibility attracted significant investment by the 'big oil' giants. The last company, Exxon, has now, however, finally pulled its support (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/17/big-oil-algae-biofuel-funding-cut-exxonmobil). Some folk have argued that 'big oil' only really invested in algal biofuels, inorder to 'greenwash' their companies. Significant money was, however, invested over an extended period. The 'big oil' companies are naturally entirely profit-driven. It has not, recently, been difficult for them to make substantial amounts of cash, by simply refocussing on their traditional extractions of fossil fuels. The electrification of vehicles is also likely to eventually reduce the demand for petrol and diesel. Fuel for aviation, would be a much lesser market. Some progress has, however, been made with algal biofuels. The algal research company, Viridos, for example, have genetically-modified algal strains, increasing their lipid production. People in this business admit, however, it would require investment of billions of dollars, to make algal biofuels a going concern. Not much point, if they are not going to be needed?