BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 30
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Hydrocarbon sector will provide an integral part of solution to the climate change, Christof van Agt, Director of Energy Dialogue, International Energy Forum told Trend.
“Hydrocarbons will remain the mainstay of the global energy mix for decades to come, according to most scenarios analyzed by the IEF Symposium on Energy Outlooks in February. I believe the hydrocarbon sector will provide an integral part of the solution to climate change and critically, ensure affordable access to modern energy services for all for the foreseeable future. It has never been more important to invest in clean technology associated with the oil, gas, and coal sectors in which hydrogen and CCUS play a leading role to reduce emissions,” he said.
Rystad Energy notes that Big Oil (ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, Total and Eni) lost 15 percent of its stock levels in the ground last year, with remaining reserves set to run out in less than 15 years – unless the group makes more commercial discoveries, and fast.
The proven oil and gas reserves of Big Oil are falling at an alarming rate, as produced volumes are not being fully replaced with new discoveries, the company warned.
“The task is becoming more and more challenging as investments in exploration shrink and success rates slump. The declining proven reserves could create serious challenges for Big Oil (ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, Total and Eni) to maintain stable production levels in coming years. This would in turn cause revenue to dwindle and pose a major threat to the financing of the group’s energy transition plans.
Big Oil saw its proven reserves drop by 13 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2020 as the companies took large impairment charges, and this year’s exploration has not come off to a great start either. The industry’s global first-quarter discovered volumes totaled 1.2 billion boe, the lowest in seven years, as high-ranked prospects failed to deliver and successful wildcats only yielded modest-sized finds,” said Rystad Energy.
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