‘Oil remains king’ says WEC chief
Posted: 06 May 2008
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Despite record prices and supply uncertainties, oil have remained as the major global source of energy, says Gerald Doucet, secretary general of the World Energy Council (WEC).
Assuring a positive outlook, the world has enough fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas to meet energy requirements for at least four decades but needs to be properly allocated according to the WEC chief.
 “In our view, oil remains king and will continue to be the marginal price-setter,” said Doucet in a study that focused on energy sustainability which explores accessibility, availability and acceptability of energy systems.
UK-based WEC is a multi-energy organisation to promote the sustainable supply and use of energy. It conducts long-term energy research and planning with a represention in 90 countries including importers and exporters of oil.
“The challenge is to get the supplies from where they are plentiful to where they are needed,” Doucet told delegates at an energy forum in Abu Dhabi last week that the world would need about $30 trillion worth of investment to tap energy systems.
During his presentation, Doucet suggests the government’s active engagement to leverage efficient policies and lead investments to a global energy future.
“This is an enormous challenge but it’s one that WEC thinks we can do,” he said. “Fossil fuels will remain as the major player in the energy mix all the way through this period.”
He noted that there will be inter-relationship changes within fossil fuel development and use which needs to be taken into account.
“Coal could easily shift from a purely power generation play to be more involved in the transportation fuels through liquids and synthetics,” he said.
Doucet added that nuclear power could takeup an expanded role for baseload generation given the presence of third and fourth generation technology that is affordable while proliferation issues are settled. However, he is less optimistic.
“The ‘nuclear renaissance’ for WEC is when nuclear’s share of the energy mix stops falling, stabilises and begins to rise,” he said. But Doucet believes that it won’t happen until 2030s.
He also believes that the ‘nuclear renaissance’ will emerge as a mass option only if governments can afford it, “It will not happen if nuclear energy remains only a rich country’s option.”
Doucet, on the other hand, thinks that biofuels and renewable energy resources will not be obtainable because it will take more time for people to adopt due to economical and political implications.
“Biofuels in WEC’s view, is an accident waiting to happen,” he explained how governments were ‘biased’ in the market with biofuel subsidies.
Further, Doucet stressed that the world is moving from cheap energy world to a more expensive energy world.
“Higher energy prices are good for efficiency and environment but for the poor without diversification of their supplies, can be very difficult.”
He said that high prices will play a big role in attracting capital investments in the developed world, while international cooperation and integration of energy markets will help bring affordable energy to those who don’t have it.
“The world has sufficient energy resources, knowledge, and skills to meet the supply needs,” he said. “We need the intelligent grid, we need to address people skills and addressing the logistics issues to achieve the goal of bringing energy from where it is plentiful to where it is needed.” |
