black gold giants highlight their key role in ensuring energy security

It was the great revenge of the oil magnates. “We are not the bad guys. We are part of the solution. We are not to be beaten, but guided,” said Tengku Muhammad Taufik, chairman of Malaysian oil company Petronas. On Monday, March 7, in Houston, Texas, the world oil elite rushed to the CERAWeek by S&P Global forum. The agenda originally devoted to energy transition has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine. “Energy security also matters”, immediately specified the master of ceremonies, the historian Daniel Yergin, while crude oil prices soared under the threat of a boycott of Russian oil. After years of being cold-shouldered by governments and public opinion for their responsibility for global warming, hydrocarbon companies have sought some sort of rehabilitation, as people demand cheap and available energy.

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“We are going to live through difficult times”, warned the boss of Exxon Darren Woods, who recalled the mission of the number one American oil company, to provide cheap energy and security of supply. “The needs and demands of society do not disappear without a viable alternative”estimated Mr. Woods, who focuses the transformation of Exxon, not on the end of hydrocarbons, but on the capture of carbon.

“The turbulence has begun”

“You cannot cut gas and oil production and think you will have a smooth energy transition. The turbulence has begun »added Jack Fusco, CEO of Cheniere Energy, an exporter of liquefied natural gas, who warned against easy solutions to supplement Russia: “No one is holding back production right now. »

John Hess, president of the American oil company Hess Corporation, also blamed the underinvestment of recent years, when the shortage of hydrocarbons had been evident since the post-Covid recovery, even before the war in Ukraine: “We will need oil and gas for the next few decades. We need to invest more. We have underinvested for five years and we are paying it now. » Mr. Hess made two additional demands on governments. One in the short term: release strategic oil stocks to reduce soaring prices – “the Federal Reserve was quick when the economy fell into recession [avec le Covid-19], the United States and the US Energy Agency must move quickly,” he pointed out. The other in the longer term: “setting up a carbon market”to finance the considerable investments deemed necessary.

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