BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 22. A focus on energy security is set to boost fuel investment, but the level remains caught between different visions of the future, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
IEA says in its latest report that the average level of investment in oil and gas expected in 2022 is higher than the level projected in the net-zero emissions (NZE) Scenario.
“The concern for climateoriented investors and observers is whether the current energy crisis opens up space for greater near-term investment in fossil fuel supply alongside efforts to bring down demand. Some countries and companies are looking to move ahead with the exploration and approval of large longer-term supply projects. But it typically takes many years for such projects to start producing, so they are not a good match for immediate energy security needs. Long-lived assets also carry a dual risk of locking in fossil fuel use that would prevent the world from meeting its climate goals, or of failing to recover their upfront development costs if the world brings down fossil demand in line with the NZE Scenario,” reads the report.
IEA experts note that oil and gas companies are already undertaking a wide variety of approaches in response to energy transitions. Spending by oil and gas companies outside “traditional” supply continues to grow, to an expected 5 percent of their upstream spending in 2022. But the average masks a wide range of company strategies, where European companies are by far the largest investors in clean energy technologies.
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