Is it time to abandon the idea of phasing out oil and gas? – asks Saudi oil boss

Can oil bosses be blamed for pointing out real world facts and calling for a ‘transition strategy reset’? At present, wind and solar energy contribute just three percent of the global energy supply, and developing countries can’t afford, and/or don’t want, to have to rely on renewables for power as demanded by climate obsessives with big ‘carbon footprints’.
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Despite feigning interest, Big Oil still appears to oppose the global green transition and could well stand in its way, says OilPrice.com.

As Saudi’s state oil company leader condemns the green transition and calls for long-term oil production, other major industry players are voicing their scepticism around renewable energy and clean tech.

Despite large investments into green energy and carbon-cutting projects from several oil and gas majors, Big Oil still appears to be heavily favouring fossil fuel production.

This month, the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco, Amin Nasser, said that the energy transition was failing and called for policymakers to abandon the “fantasy” of phasing out oil and gas, with the demand for fossil fuels expected to continue growing in the coming years.

During a panel interview at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference in Houston, Nasser stated, “In the real world, the current transition strategy is visibly failing on most fronts as it collides with five hard realities.”

He went on to say, “A transition strategy reset is urgently needed, and my proposal is this: We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas and instead invest in them adequately reflecting realistic demand assumptions.”

Nasser has previously caught the energy world’s attention by claiming that oil and gas demand will not peak any time soon, contrary to claims by many energy experts. This came in response to an International Energy Agency (IEA) which predicted that oil, gas and coal demand would peak in 2030.

Nasser believes that the IEA view is overly U.S. and Europe-centric, and discards growing demand for fossil fuels in other areas of the world, particularly those countries in the Global South undergoing industrialisation.

The CEO of the world’s largest oil producer does not believe alternative energy sources will be rolled out on the scale required to displace hydrocarbons in the short- to mid-term, despite massive levels of investment in the sector in recent decades.

At present, wind and solar energy contribute just three percent of the global energy supply, while electric vehicle (EV) penetration stands at around three percent, Nasser emphasised.

In contrast, hydrocarbons continue to account for around 80 percent of the world’s energy supply, falling by just three percent in the last quarter of a century. While the demand for coal is expected to fall, this will be largely replaced by a higher global demand for natural gas – the ‘cleaner’ fossil fuel.

Nasser believes that governments are in denial and that a shift to green will not provide enough energy to meet the growing global demand.

During the Houston Conference, other oil and gas executives echoed Nasser’s views on the need for more investment in oil and gas.
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Nasser has previously caught the energy world’s attention by claiming that oil and gas demand will not peak any time soon, contrary to claims by many energy experts.

Full article here.