The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, says energy transition cannot be achieved by depriving the oil and gas industry of needed capital.
While speaking at the second High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-GECF Energy Dialogue in Vienna, on Wednesday, he warned that the tight supply of gas could worsen.
Barkindo said capital expenditure in the oil sector fell by a staggering 30 percent last year, while exploration and production spending fell by 27 percent in both 2015 and 2016.
He added, “In fact, the push to deprive the industry of capital could side-track our efforts to invest in innovation, technology and new generations of highly-skilled workers to lead our industry into a lower-carbon future.
“These massive requirements clearly underline that any talk of the need to divert investment away from oil and gas is both disruptive and counterproductive.”
He urged stakeholders in the global energy industry to seek a more inclusive and equitable world where everyone has access to energy.
“The tightness we are seeing in the gas market could become more pronounced in the future, given the current efforts aimed at crowding out investment,” Barkindo said.
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According to him, “there is no short-cut to a lower-carbon future, and you cannot short-sell vital energy assets if you are to achieve a smooth transition.
“Today, it is of utmost importance that Organisations like OPEC and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) continue to work hand-in-hand to ensure that we remain in a strong position to provide secure, stable and sustainable supplies of energy.”
Barkindo hoped that the Glasgow conference will deliver a comprehensive, all-inclusive agreement focused on achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
He noted that the interests of the 759 million people living without access to reliable electricity, and 2.6 billion people who must rely on unsafe and unhealthy fuels to cook their meals and heat their homes, cannot be overlooked in Glasgow.
