When it comes to reducing emissions, carbon capture and storage is the oil industry’s top priority. That was the message from business leaders and government officials gathered this week in Calgary for the World Petroleum Congress.
The oil world has indicated it agrees with reducing emissions, but it disagrees with destroying oil demand, according to a Bloomberg report citing speakers including the CEO of Aramco , the CEO of Exxon and the Saudi Minister of Energy.
“There seems to be wishful thinking that we’re going to flip a switch and go from where we are today to where we are tomorrow,” Exxon’s Darren Woods said, adding “It doesn’t matter where demand, If we don’t maintain a certain level of investment in the industry, we end up running out of supply, which leads to high prices.”
We are currently seeing this in real time, but that has not stopped transition advocates from predicting peak oil demand and even calling on governments to target demand rather than supply in order to reduce oil production. hydrocarbons.
A recent Reuters article argued that to reduce oil and gas production and related emissions, governments need to focus on end users and tax their use of hydrocarbons. In other words, the author argues for even higher energy prices.
Such a move could, however, have the opposite effect, according to Aramco’s Amin Nasser. He reiterated Woods’ call for stable investments in oil and gas, saying: “Otherwise, in the medium to long term, we will have another crisis and we will go backwards in terms of using more and more coal and other inexpensive products available today. » all these decarbonization efforts will be doomed to failure. »
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith perhaps summed up the industry’s attitude best: “We’re moving away from emissions,” she said, as quoted by Bloomberg. “We are not moving away from oil and natural gas.”
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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