Global Push To Replace Fossil Fuel With Renewables A Fantasy—Saudi Aramco CEO

HOUSTON: The push by the global community to transition from fossil fuel to cleaner source of energy has been described as a mere fantasy.

The Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser said this on Monday at the 2024 edition of CERAWeek by S&P Global holding in Houston, the United States.

CERAWeek 2024 which is being attended by over 8,000 delegates, 1,400 speakers from 85 countries has as its theme, Multidimensional Energy Transition: Markets, climate, technology and geopolitics.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari is among the speakers at the event.

Kyari will headline the Plenary Session titled “Leadership Dialogue” on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024, at the annual strategic conference.

Same day, NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan will also headline a Plenary Session titled “What are the Choices for Upstream Strategies?

On Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, it will be the turn of the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, who will be a Panelist on a Strategic Dialogue Session titled “Africa’s Energy Future: Access, Investment & Sustainability”.

The event will explore strategies for a multidimensional, multispeed and multifuel energy transition.

The drive for energy transition is reshaping the competitive landscape for companies and countries – creating new opportunities and risks across the energy value chain.

The imperative to reduce emissions has grown in urgency. Yet expectations of a simple linear global transition have been shaken as climate goals compete with concerns over how to deliver economic growth while ensuring energy security, energy access, and affordability.

The push for energy transition is reshaping the energy landscape by creating new opportunities and risks across developed and emerging economies.

But speaking at the opening session of the event, Nasser said the multidimensional energy transition reflects different realities and timelines by region, technology, and industry strategies.

The Saudi Aramco boss called for a “re-set” of plans to quickly replace fossil fuels with renewable energies, calling current energy transition timetables a fantasy.

Nasser called for recognition that demand for oil and gas is not going to be replaced soon, and not by the 2030 target to limit global warming.

He described the ambitious timetables put out by consumer and environment groups a “fantasy.”

He said, “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from hydrocarbons through carbon capture other technologies achieves better results than alternative energies.
“We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas”