The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American company Chevron, Mike Wirthset the tone from the opening speech of the conference CERAWeek par S&P Global. An orderly transition means that markets are supplied, the economy is competitive, and energy remains affordable for consumers. […] A disorganized transition could be painful and chaotic
he said.
More than 7,500 people are present at this conference, which brings together CEO of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.
We must beware of prematurely ending our current system and turning to a system that does not yet exist on a large scale.
The CEO of the Malaysian company Petronas, Tengku Muhammad Taufik, made the same observation a few minutes later. Moving to a lower carbon economy will require more extraction of rare minerals. We are not ready
he said.
% of energy mix”,”text”:”We cannot get rid of oil and gas for at least the next two to three decades, and even then [le secteur] will still represent 30 to 40% of the energy mix””>We cannot get rid of oil and gas for at least the next two to three decades, and even then [le secteur] will still represent 30 to 40% of the energy mix
he added.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia weighs in these analyses. A year after the start of the war, the CEO of Chevron believes that Europe will never again be dependent on Russian natural gas supplies, which has notably boosted the production of liquefied natural gas in the United States. As for the oil market, he believes that the balance between supply and demand is fragile.
The issue of secure supply remains central, according to the CEO Canadian oil company Cenovus, Alex Pourbaix. There is also a lot more pragmatism and realism in the face of the challenges of decarbonization. This one is going to take a lot longer than expected, and the obstacles are a lot bigger than we expected.
Houston, we got a problem
Even if the hydrocarbon companies are on friendly ground at this conference, they did not escape questions about their climate commitments.
Asked about the huge profits that these oil companies made last year, Mike Wirth evaded the question. According to him, his business has not changed the way it operates, rather it has increased attention.
The President’s Special Envoy for the Climate, John Kerry, however, encouraged the industry to invest these profits in the energy transition. He estimated that $1 billion would be enough for the industry to meet US methane emission reduction targets.
A billion dollars? And we’re told we don’t have the money
, he scoffed. The five largest oil companies in the world recorded nearly 200 billion in profit in 2022.
Borrowing the famous phrase Houston, we got a problem
the president-elect of the upcoming climate conference, to be held in the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Al Jaber, also urged oil companies to do more. The oil and gas sector needs to up its game
indicated the one who is also CEO of the Emirati giant ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company).
« Do more, do it faster and be more efficient. »
The presence of oil companies at the last COP had been criticized, but the President-elect of COP28 instead reached out to them and asked them to work together to achieve global climate ambitions.
