Oil and Gas have been the motors of movement, appliances, and the determinants of many world countries’ economies and wellbeing.
The question is: What’s the future of all that?
In front of global warming, contamination, species extinction and the concept of renewable sources everything points out to the need of decreasing oil and gas dependence.
The other question is: Is it possible? Are we ready to give a whole turn towards this direction? Or is there still a long life for Oil and Gas industries?
Let’s read what the experts have to say about this…
Tyson Slocum, Director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program
“When talking about the oil and gas industry, you must first separate the two fuels, as oil and natural gas are increasingly experiencing dramatically different trajectories. Let’s start with oil: Shell’s CEO recently predicted that global oil demand could peak in 15 years. That’s because US oil consumption – which the world banked on for generations to grow at a steady clip – instead has flatlined. US vehicle miles driven continues to break records, but that’s been more than offset by continued improvements in average fleet fuel economy, thereby keeping a lid on US demand. And expected Chinese demand growth continues to not materialize.
But won’t OPEC’s expected production cuts force prices up? Probably not, as since 1982 OPEC agreements have been cheated on 96% of the time.
I don’t see that expected Trump Administration changes to energy regulations will have any impact either way on US production or demand – US oil production will be determined by the market price for the commodity, as the US regulatory impact is negligible.
Which brings us to natural gas. I see natural gas demand continuing to increase over the next decade as it replaces coal worldwide as an electric power fuel source, and provides marginal replacement for transportation fuel. But even gas’ apex will be brief, as its use for power is increasingly offset by massive renewable energy deployment, and electricity becomes the primary transportation fuel replacement for oil.”
Casey Minshew is the COO of EnergyFunders
“The oil and gas industry has found its new normal with prices in the low 60s to mid 50s range for the next few years. The demand in oil is rising in China, as their overall production is decreasing, while India has very little infrastructure for oil and gas production but demand is soaring. The rise in alternative energy is a must and will certainly help compliment demand for all energy as our populations grows. We are bullish on oil and gas, along with Alternative Energy – they will compliment worldwide energy demands.”
Joseph “Yossie” Hollander, Founder & Chairman of Fuel Freedom Foundation
“By 2050, there will be three billion light-duty vehicles (LDVs) on the road. Even under the most optimistic forecast, alternative vehicles will account for – at best – 50 percent of the total worldwide fleet, leaving hundreds of millions of cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) still in operation. To illustrate the need to push aggressively for all possible solutions, Fuel Freedom Foundation launched its interactive model projecting the composition of the light duty fleet through 2050. It demonstrates that alternative vehicles alone won’t solve our problems related to transportation, air pollution and global oil demand.”
Jason Lavis, Marketing Director of NatResPro
“It’s most probable that the oil and gas industry will look very similar in 10-15 years time. Every green solution has its own set of problems to solve. For example, the growth in solar is restricted by national grid constraints and rare earth supply. At the same time, the global oil supply glut looks like it will persist as more counties embrace fracking and other low cost extraction techniques. Low cost fossil fuels balance reductions in the cost of renewables.
Add in the lack of political will in many countries, both developing and developed, and then the protectionism from big business… 10 years starts to look like it isn’t a very long time into the future. Sometime in the next 40 years new technology will be developed that changes my prediction overnight, possibly autonomous AI. At that point any human predictions will be worthless.”
John Mansfield, CEO of Indigo Energy
“Government regulations will determine the future stability of the oil and gas industry, and the new administration will be an ally that ignites further investment in much needed infrastructure projects. Increased predictability in the energy sector will boost refineries as well as distribution and delivery systems that are currently straining to keep up with demand. It’s not just the capital of the industry that will improve, but also the human assets, as employment in the oil and gas industry will experience a steady rise that offsets the losses of the past decade due to declining prices and general instability. Around the world, negotiations will continue within OPEC, and Russia will establish a larger presence in the global oil market. The oil and gas industry has experienced a tumultuous few years and is ready to get back on track with stabilized regulations and pricing structures, as well as increased industry investment.”
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