OPEC “uneasy” about green energy
Despite forecasts that show no end to rising
demand for crude over the coming decades, oil-producing nations are casting an
uneasy eye on the growing number of measures being taken to tackle climate
change.
Ain’t nothin’ like continuity!
Despite forecasts that show no end to rising demand for crude over the coming decades, oil-producing nations are casting an uneasy eye on the growing number of measures being taken to tackle climate change.
“The main long term challenge is definitely the necessity to reconcile oil with environmental demands,” Claude Mandil, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told a recent conference organised by OPEC to examine the industry’s future.
Mandil also hinted that the 11 Middle Eastern, African and Asian nations in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries could not afford to ignore concerns about climate change, which are even winning over once sceptical consuming nations.
Andris Kenteris, top adviser to EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, underlined that the strategy to be unveiled in January would resort to a broader range of energy sources, including renewables, nuclear power and clean fossil fuels.
“Twenty percent of savings are I think definitely realistic by 2020,” Kenteris told the oil industry.
That kind of message irritates the world’s top oil producer, Saudi Arabia.
He wants to double Saudi oil income!
“Without a doubt, the world still needs contributions from a wide range of energy sources and regions to meet the growing energy demand of a rising world population in the future,” said Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuami.
“However, impractical energy policies, unrealistic timeframes to bring some alternatives on stream, or the inefficiencies that come with inputting more energy to produce some of these alternatives… do nothing to secure the world’s energy future,” he added.
Yet, oil remains “the leading fuel in the global energy mix for the foreseeable future,” said OPEC acting Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo.
Biofuels like ethanol made from sugar cane are “a rapidly growing competitor but not a big threat” for oil, Mandil said.
Oil producers are also concerned about new anti-pollution regulations that not only aim to drive down consumption, but also oblige oil companies to supply more costly, highly-refined “cleaner” fuels.
Anything that worries OPEC can’t be all bad. Toss in the Oil Patch Boys with furrowed brows — and we must be getting somewhere useful.
Posted: Tue - September 19, 2006 at 06:05 AM