Investment in conventional oil and gas remains a core component and challenge in the short to medium term, despite moving towards a long- term lower carbon future energy mix, delegates heard at the Petroleum Economist’s fifth annual GCC Energy Strategy Forum in Kuwait City
Andy Brogan, global oil and gas transaction advisory services leader at consultancy EY, said that while renewable energy represents the largest growth area in new energy supplies, it is essential to maintain and expand conventional hydrocarbon production to meet increased global energy demand.
The current US$430bn investment per year is not enough to keep up with current demand trends, only matching the minimum requirement for EY’s low oil demand scenario, Brogan added. The firm’s medium demand case requires US$750bn per year of capital expenditure.
His call for investment in oil and gas was echoed in further keynote addresses by Hashem Sayed Hashem, deputy chairman and chief executive officer of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and Abbas Ali Al- Naqi, secretary general of Oapec.
The event also heard from Walid Al Nader, chairman and CEO of Shell Kuwait, about the importance of gas in moving towards a lower carbon future.
The Forum addressed the challenges of securing the required investment from Pradeep Handa, general manager in the foreign corporate, oil and trade finance group at National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), Richard Lucas, managing partner at law firm HFW and Rani Selwanes, managing director at NBK Capital.
