‘Oil and gas key to world energy’

istanbul — Oil and gas will remain central to the world’s supply of energy for decades to come, despite a surge of interest in renewables, the chief executive of giant producer Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser said on Monday.

Oil major bosses and energy ministers are meeting at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, with the outlook clouded by low crude oil prices and exacerbated by the drive towards renewables which have driven down investment to record lows.

Nasser stressed the need to ramp up investment in underlining the continuing energy importance of oil and gas. “Financial investors are shying away from making much needed investment,” he said, warning that without higher investment levels “energy transition and energy security may be fatally compromised.”

Meanwhile, the decision announced last week by Volvo to phase out petrol-only cars from 2019 in favour of electric has also sent ripples of concern around the industry. The chief of the Saudi Arabian energy giant said that there is “widespread agreement” that even as the world moves to greater use of renewables over fossil fuels, “petroleum will continue to be the heart of the energy mix.”

He said that while “expectations for alternatives are through the roof” history shows that energy transitions to different sources tend to be “long and complex processes”. — AFP