Oil and gas will remain leading sources of energy for decades to come, major industry players echoed during the inaugural Energy Asia conference.
“Energy transition is going to take a lot longer, it’s going to cost a lot more money and need new technologies that don’t even exist today,” said Hess Corporation’s CEO.
Oil and gas will continue to be leading sources of energy for decades to come on the back of a lagging energy transition, major industry players said at the Energy Asia conference held in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur this week.
“We think the biggest realization that should come out of this conference … is oil and gas are needed for decades to come,” said John Hess, CEO of U.S. oil company Hess Corporation.
“Energy transition is going to take a lot longer, it’s going to cost a lot more money and need new technologies that don’t even exist today,” he continued.
When it comes to clean energy, the world needs to invest $4 trillion a year — and it’s nowhere close, Hess said.
According to the International Energy Agency, global investment in clean energy is set to rise to $1.7 trillion in 2023.
Hess said oil and gas are key to the world’s economic competitiveness, as well as an affordable and secure energy transition.
The oil market will be more constructive in the second half of the year, with production going up to 1.2 million barrels a day in 2027, he predicted. He noted that the biggest challenge the world has is the underinvestment in the industry.
“The world is facing a structural deficit in energy supply, in oil and gas, in clean energy,” he said.
Likewise, at the the conference’s opening address, OPEC’s Secretary General projected global oil demand will rise to 110 million barrels a day by 2045. The growth comes on the back of rapid urbanization over the next few years, Haitham Al Ghais said.
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