MEETING growing demand for energy, while reducing environmental risk, will require significant effort and billions of dollars of investment. But while renewables and other low-carbon energy sources will become increasingly important, delegates at Houston’s Offshore Technology Conference are certain fossil fuels will remain the dominant energy supply for at least two decades.
Looking for an alternative
“Looking for alternatives is the right thing to do, but thinking they will replace oil and gas is unrealistic,” Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America exploration and production said. To offset predicted production declines and meet minimum forecast consumption growth, he added, the world will need to add at least 55 million barrels a day (b/d) of additional oil-production capacity by 2030.
And that’s achievable, Stephen Greenlee, ExxonMobil’s exploration president, said. With about 7.6 trillion barrels of oil in place worldwide, “the resources appear more than adequate to meet forecast demand”, he...