A watershed week highlighting climate risks for oil and gas multinationals has forced Australian producers onto the back foot, increasing doubts over multi-billion-dollar projects and investments required to underpin the federal government’s gas-fired recovery plan.

Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search face a tougher task to complete up to $5 billion of asset sales they have under way to bring new partners into projects, analysts say, while some are questioning whether oil and gas is going the same way as thermal coal in becoming off-limits for many investors.