Oil is Not Going Anywhere According to BP’s CEO

Many oil companies are willing to tackle climate change and BP is not an exception. BP’s CEO Bernand Looney stated that BP is willing to fight against climate change. Still, BP’s boss insisted that hydrocarbons such as oil and gas will have an ongoing role to play in the energy mix in the future. 

According to Looney, it may not be popular to say that oil and gas is going to be in the energy system for decades to come but that is the reality. BP’s boss stated that replacing coal with natural gas, thereby reducing carbon emissions, “has to be a good thing.”

The oil giant’s CEO also mentioned the International Energy Agency’s “Net Zero” report. Global oil supply “in the net zero pathway” would still amount to around 20 million barrels per day according to the report.

Oil, BP, and climate change

Bernard Looney’s comments regarding oil and gas come after the conclusion of the COP26 climate summit. In Glasgow, nearly 200 countries agreed to “phase down” coal use rather than “phase out”. They also agreed to “phase out” fossil fuel subsidies and to improve financial support to low-income countries. Not everyone is happy with the deal. Climate activists believe that the deal stated earlier does not go far enough. 

Oil giant BP is working hard to reduce its impact on the environment, by focusing on renewables. The company had less than 10 gigawatts in renewables. At the moment, BP has a pipeline of over 23 gigawatts. It also invested in wind power. For instance, BP entered the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets in the U.S. and the U.K. It also invested in hydrogen. BP partnered with Adnoc and Masdar to develop this technology.

Oil-rich (and energy-export dependent) countries share Looney’s opinion regarding oil and gas. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud stated that global efforts to fight climate change shouldn’t involve the shunning of any particular energy source. At the conference, he also stated that the global community should work together to tackle climate change. 

The world’s largest oil producers are trying to diversify their economies. Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the U.S. are willing to develop other industries. However, it is not an easy task to get rid of oil. For many oil-producing countries, it will be difficult to make money from other industries.