Barkindo: Oil, Gas Extinction Talks Misguided

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr Sanusi Barkindo, has said that any talks about oil and gas going into extinction in the coming decades are misguided.

Speaking at the 23rd World Petroleum Congress Plenary Session on “Energy Transition: Scenarios for the Future”, in the United States, Barkindo said that neither science nor statistics support that position.

Stressing that public discourse around energy, climate and sustainable development continues to be extremely emotive, he noted that it was evident in Glasgow, with many voices from the petroleum industry excluded from speaking.

“At times, the narrative around the energy transition has been overtaken by emotional outbursts, with rational discussions based on facts, hard data and science, taking a back seat,” he noted.

The secretary general stated that the complexity of the challenge calls for an inclusive approach; not the pursuit of a single ‘one size fits all’ panacea, insisting that to reduce emissions requires a delicate balancing act, with all voices heard, and listened to.

He argued that focusing on only one of the issues, while ignoring the others, can lead to unintended consequences, such as market distortions, heightened price volatility and energy shortfalls.

Describing climate change and energy poverty as two sides of the same coin, Barkindo noted that the world needs to ensure energy is affordable for all and a more inclusive transition.

He maintained, however, that what is clear is that the world will need more energy in the future, with OPEC’s recently released World Oil Outlook (WOO) 2021 seeing global energy demand expanding by 28 per cent by 2045.

“For oil and gas, there are some who believe that these industries should not be part of the energy future, that they should be consigned to the ‘dustbin of history’, and that the future is one that can be dominated by renewables and electric vehicles.

“It is important to state clearly that the science does not tell us this, and the statistics related to the blight of energy poverty do not tell us this either,” he posited.

While admitting that renewables are coming of age, with wind and solar expanding quickly, Barkindo said that even by 2045, it is only estimated to make up around 24 per cent of the global energy mix.

He reiterated that oil and gas combined are forecast to still supply over 50 per cent of the world’s energy needs by 2045, with oil at around 28 per cent and gas at just over 24 per cent.

In terms of electric vehicles, the OPEC helmsman stated there is no doubt that they will continue to see expansion in the transportation sector, but that the share of electric vehicles in the total road transportation fleet is projected to expand to only close to 20 per cent in 2045.

He argued that OPEC fully believes that the oil and gas industries can be part of the solution to tackling climate change, and evolving the energy transition.

He listed carbon capture utilisation and storage as well as blue hydrogen and the promotion of the circular carbon economy, to improve overall environmental performance as key to energy sustainability.