fortune.com Open in urlscan Pro
18.155.68.116  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

WE’VE UPDATED OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Our updated Privacy Policy addresses how we may use and share your information
with affiliate marketing networks and throughout the Fortune group of companies
for marketing purposes. By clicking “Accept” or continuing to use our services,
you accept these updates and consent to the terms of our Privacy Policy. If you
do not agree to the updated Privacy Policy, please do not continue to use,
access, or download any of the services.

ACCEPT

SEARCH

SIGN INSubscribe Now
 * Home
 * News
 * Tech
   * AI
 * Finance
   * Personal Finance
   * Real Estate
   * Crypto
 * Leadership
   * Success
 * Well
   * Life
   * Health
   * Mind
   * Family
   * Aging Well
 * Recommends
   * Credit Cards
   * Banking
   * Insurance
   * Mortgages
   * Investing
   * Loans
   * Health
 * Fortune 500
   * Fortune 500 Europe
   * Fortune Global 500
   * Fortune China 500

Home Page
Subscribe Now
 * Sections
    * FORTUNE 500
    * News
    * Europe
    * Asia
    * Tech
       * AI
   
    * Finance
       * Personal Finance
       * Real Estate
       * Crypto
   
    * Leadership
       * Success
   
    * Well
       * Life
       * Health
       * Mind
       * Family
       * Aging Well
   
    * Recommends
       * Credit Cards
          * Best Airline Credit Cards
          * Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
          * Best Business Credit Cards
          * Best Cash Back Credit Cards
          * Best Secured Credit Cards
          * Best Travel Credit Cards
          * Best 0% APR Credit Cards
      
       * Banking
          * Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
          * Best Savings Accounts
          * Best CD Rates
          * Best Money Market Accounts
          * Savings Calculator
      
       * Insurance
       * Mortgages
       * Investing
       * Loans
       * Health
   
    * Coupons
    * Education
    * Video

 * Rankings
    * FORTUNE 500
    * GLOBAL 500
    * MOST POWERFUL WOMEN
    * GREAT PLACE TO WORK LISTS
    * BEST MBA PROGRAMS
    * MORE RANKINGS

 * Analytics

 * Newsletters
 * Magazine
    * December 2023/January 2024
    * October/November 2023
    * August/September 2023
    * June/July 2023
    * April/May 2023
    * February/March 2023

 * Live Media
 * CEO Initiative


Environment ·Big Oil


SAUDI ARAMCO CEO SAYS IT’S TIME TO ABANDON THE ‘FANTASY’ OF PHASING OUT OIL
BECAUSE THE $9.5 TRILLION ENERGY TRANSITION IS ON A ‘ROAD TO NOWHERE’

BYEleanor Pringle
March 19, 2024 at 7:38 PM GMT+8
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Amin Nasser, chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, told 2024 CERAWeek that
policymakers' plan to phase out oil is a "fantasy."
F. Carter Smith—Bloomberg/Getty Images

The boss of the world’s biggest oil producer has called time on the energy
transition, saying it’s time for policymakers to focus on affordability and
lowering emissions instead of phasing out oil and gas entirely.



Speaking in Houston this week at the CERAWeek conference, Aramco’s CEO Amin H.
Nasser said consumers need immediate access to affordable energy without
disrupting their daily routines.

But according to Nasser—who took on the top job at the oil giant in 2015—these
demands are at odds with the current priorities of governments attempting to
turn their nations towards greener alternatives.

“The current transition strategy is visibly failing on most fronts,” Nasser said
Monday.

“The first is that, despite the world investing more than $9.5 trillion on
energy transition over the past two decades, alternatives have been unable to
displace hydrocarbons at scale.



“Today, wind and solar combined, supply under 4% of world energy. Meanwhile, the
total penetration of EVs is less than 3%. Three to 4% is not nothing, and we
welcome the progress in both renewables and EVs. But 3% to 4% is not everything
either.”

On the other hand—according to the U.K.-based Energy Institute—fossil fuels made
up 82% of the world’s energy consumption in 2022.



Although this proportion is down from 85% five years prior, global primary
energy consumption is still growing with oil consumption rising almost three
million barrels per day (b/d) to 97.3 million b/d in 2022.

Nasser added there is still “significant demand growth potential” to be explored
in developing countries, where demand is between one and two barrels per person,
per year. This is a fraction compared to the U.S. and the EU, which demand 22
barrels and nine barrels respectively, Nasser pointed out.

Shortfalls such as this led the boss of the company—which has a market cap of
approximately $2 trillion at the time of writing, per Bloomberg—to double down:
“A transition strategy reset is urgently needed and my proposal is this. We
should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas, and instead invest in
them adequately, reflecting realistic demand assumptions.”

The Aramco boss, who leads a team of more than 70,000 people, also took aim at
those who painted the oil industry as the “archenemy” of the energy transition,
arguing the sector had a “starring role” in global prosperity.

As well as ramping up carbon emission efforts, improving efficiency, and
exporting lower carbon emissions, Nasser added, policymakers should “phase in
new energy sources and technologies when they are genuinely ready, economically
competitive, and with the right infrastructure.”


THE AFFORDABILITY ISSUE

Hearing Nasser—a petroleum engineering graduate from the King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran—calling for affordability to be made a
priority will be welcome news to consumers who are battling inflation, higher
base rates, and unpredictable energy costs.



In the U.K.—which has a price cap—regulators have increased energy caps by up to
80% in the past couple of years, prompting the government to step in with fiscal
support to prevent a deepening of the nation’s cost-of-living crisis.

In the U.S. the price of crude oil has been volatile—spiking at $113.77 in June
2022 before falling to $71 by December 2023.

A January report from the Labor Department cited higher energy prices remaining
as a major driver of inflation—leading to price rises in December of 0.3% from
November and 3.4% from 12 months earlier.

The fluctuations are down to trade wars with major producer Russia over its
invasion of Ukraine, as well as OPEC+ nations voluntarily deciding to cut
production levels.

But Nasser, as well as pushing for efficiencies to improve affordability in his
own industry, also fired a shot at other energy types and parallel products.

He said: “Despite its significant long-term potential, hydrogen still costs in
the range of $200 to $400 per barrel of oil equivalent, while oil and gas remain
much cheaper.

“Meanwhile, without subsidies, EVs are up to 50% more expensive than an average
internal combustion engine car. They cannot be subsidized forever and increasing
consumer doubts about their cost and benefits is preventing mass adoption.”

As a result, Nasser said, consumers are waking up to a “reality” he claims many
in the industry are accustomed to: “The world has been trying to transition in
fog, without a compass, on a road to nowhere… Consumers are demanding a
transition that is affordable, reliable, and flexible, and that supports our
climate ambitions.”

Subscribe to Impact Report, a weekly newsletter on the trends and issues shaping
corporate sustainability. Sign up for free.
Sponsored
Continue watching

Unlocking Your Potential: Persuade Your Boss to Invest in Your Training
Sponsored Stories





LATEST IN ENVIRONMENT

 * 6 hours ago
 * Environment - train derailment
   
   
   EPA NEVER DECLARED A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY AFTER FIERY 2023 NORFOLK
   SOUTHERN DERAILMENT THAT SPILLED AND BURNED TOXIC CHEMICALS IN OHIO
   
   BYJosh Funk and The Associated Press
   April 3, 2024

 * a day ago
 * Environment - Sustainability
   
   
   EARLY GREEN TECH FAILURES CAST DOUBT ON EUROPE’S $40 BILLION ‘MUST-SUCCEED’
   INNOVATION FUND
   
   BYJohn Ainger, Will Mathis, and others
   April 2, 2024

 * a day ago
 * Conferences - Fortune Innovation Forum
   
   
   SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC HEAD SAYS THE FUTURE OF ENERGY ‘IS IN A DEADLOCK’—BUT
   DEMAND FOR CLEAN ELECTRICITY WILL SHOW THE WAY
   
   BYPrarthana Prakash
   April 2, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Environment - California
   
   
   CALIFORNIA’S HIGHWAY 1 NEAR BIG SUR COLLAPSES INTO THE OCEAN, SHRINKING
   TRAFFIC TO ONE LANE
   
   BYThe Associated Press
   April 2, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Environment - chemicals
   
   
   3M’S ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ ARE AN ETERNAL PUBLIC DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANT.
   PRICE TAG: $10.5 BILLION TO $12.5 BILLION
   
   BYJim Salter and The Associated Press
   April 2, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Environment - Autos
   
   
   U.S. TRAFFIC DEATHS HAVE NOW FALLEN FOR 7 STRAIGHT QUARTERS SINCE 2022
   
   BYThe Associated Press
   April 2, 2024


MOST POPULAR

 * 2 days ago
 * Leadership
   
   
   SINGAPOREAN FIRM WHOSE SHIP TOOK DOWN THE BALTIMORE BRIDGE JUST CITED AN 1851
   MARITIME LAW TO CAP LIABILITY AT $44 MILLION
   
   BYMichael Kunzelman, Rebecca Boone, and others
   April 2, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Finance
   
   
   HYUNDAI AND KIA RECALLED 3.4M VEHICLES, WARNING TO PARK THEM OUTDOORS BECAUSE
   THEY RISKED CATCHING FIRE. 6 MONTHS LATER, MOST ARE STILL ON THE ROAD,
   UNREPAIRED
   
   BYTom Krisher and The Associated Press
   April 1, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Environment
   
   
   ‘CICADA-GEDDON’ WILL HIT AMERICA FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1803, EXPERT SAYS:
   ‘TRILLIONS OF THESE AMAZING LIVING ORGANISMS [COMING] OUT OF THE EARTH’
   
   BYSeth Borenstein and The Associated Press
   April 2, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Finance
   
   
   AMERICA WILL BE LEFT WITH ‘SEVERE, IRREVERSIBLE SCARS’ IF NATIONAL DEBT GOES
   UNCHECKED. NOW, A BLOCKBUSTER REPORT WARNS THE BILL IS HIGHER THAN BELIEVED,
   HITTING $141T BY 2054
   
   BYEleanor Pringle
   April 1, 2024

 * 20 hours ago
 * Finance
   
   
   THE ‘GROWING CRISIS OF THE YOUNG AMERICAN MALE’ COULD SEND HOME PRICES
   FALLING FOR YEARS OR EVEN DECADES, SAYS THE ‘ORACLE OF WALL STREET’
   
   BYAlena Botros
   April 3, 2024

 * 2 days ago
 * Politics
   
   
   OREGON JUST OFFICIALLY CHANGED ITS MIND ON DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS
   
   BYThe Associated Press
   April 2, 2024

Rankings
 * 100 Best Companies
 * Fortune 500
 * Global 500
 * Fortune 500 Europe

 * Most Powerful Women
 * Future 50
 * World’s Most Admired Companies
 * See All Rankings

Sections
 * Finance
 * Leadership
 * Success
 * Tech

 * Asia
 * Europe
 * Environment
 * Fortune Crypto

 * Health
 * Well
 * Retail
 * Lifestyle
 * Politics

 * Newsletters
 * Magazine
 * Features
 * Commentary

 * MPW
 * CEO Initiative
 * Conferences
 * Personal Finance
 * Recommends
 * Coupons

Customer Support
 * Frequently Asked Questions
 * Customer Service Portal
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms of Use
 * Single Issues for Purchase
 * International Print

Commercial Services
 * Fortune Brand Studio
 * Fortune Analytics
 * Fortune Conferences
 * Advertising
 * Business Development

About Us
 * About Us
 * Editorial Calendar
 * Press Center
 * Work at Fortune
 * Diversity and Inclusion
 * Behavioral Advertising Notice
 * Terms and Conditions
 * Site Map

© 2024 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site
constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at
Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Ad
Choices 
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and
other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and
services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its
licensors. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by
Interactive Data Managed Solutions.

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 






search by queryly Advanced Search