BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The US calls for helping oil and gas companies diversify their energy portfolios, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said during the ministerial meeting of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“We have delivered a clear message to our domestic oil and gas companies. We want that industry to ramp up production where and whenever they can right now. US production levels are projected to reach record highs this year. We’re exporting every molecule of liquified natural gas (LNG) that can be liquified at any terminal that exists. We know that we cannot fix that supply disruptions on our own, however, and this is where the IEA’s analysis, leadership and ability to spur collective action are key,” she said.
Granholm recalled that a few weeks ago this body agreed only for the fourth time in IEA’s nearly five decades history to collectively release strategic oil reserves.
“We signaled that IEA members will act quickly to hedge against energy disruptions. We must increase reliable supply right now and accelerate our efforts for clean energy. Let us make 2022 a year of implementation. Already the IEA has put out a 10-point plan for immediately reducing European dependence on Russian oil and gas, that’s very helpful and let’s take it further. Let’s vastly increase public and private investment in clean energy. Let’s work with oil and gas companies to help them diversify their energy portfolios with a focus on technologies that will demand the very skills that fossil energy workers already have. Let’s ensure that we do not trade one energy supply chain vulnerability for another. I am talking about minerals and critical materials that are powering so many of our clean energy technologies. We have to source these materials responsibly, we have to process them sustainably and we have to minimize the carbon footprint for manufacturing,” added the energy secretary.
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