欧美文化:Economic Watch: Global energy leaders outline plans for increased production of oil, renewable

HOUSTON, March 21 (Xinhua)-- Energy leaders from the Global South on Tuesday outlined their companies' plans to increase oil and gas production while developing more renewable energy during the ongoing global forum CERAWeek in Houston, Texas.

"We will invest 300 billion (U.S.) dollars between now and 2040 to increase production capacity from current 3 million barrels per day (b/d) to 4 million b/d by 2035, and sustain at that level until 2040," Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, deputy chairman and CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, told the CERAWeek audience.

The company plans to start offshore production soon and welcomes outside investors and partners to form a new type of partnership that features more direct involvement in the operations, he said.

Kuwait also has an ambitious plan to develop more renewable energy with its abundant solar energy resources, first to power its oil production, he added.

"Most people do not realize that Nigeria has more gas than oil," said Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.

The company has raised its oil production from below 1 million b/d in 2022 to the current over 1.6 million b/d, and together with its international partners, it is building a new processing unit in the Nigerian LNG project to bring the capacity to 30 million tons per annum (mtpa) from the current 22 mtpa, said Kyari.

He voiced hope that a final decision will be made before the end of this year for the 5,300-km Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project. Once completed, it can be extended to supply Europe and is expected to benefit as many as 10 African countries along the route.

The economic growth of the Global South will be key to global oil demand growth in the next decade when the world is going through an energy transition and seeing rapid renewable energy development, said local analysts.

However, the Global South's role in tackling climate change and energy transition is also becoming increasingly important, as some 85 percent of the world's population lives there.

During the forum, speakers from the Global South stressed the importance of an orderly and just energy transition, calling for "big and different thinking" to address "energy poverty."

They criticized some groups for forcing an unrealistic pace for energy transition when much of the Global South does not even have access to electricity to meet basic needs, adding that the priority of the Global South is to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to their people.

The 2024 CERAWeek's theme, multidimensional energy transition, reflects the recognition that the energy transition will be complex unfolding in different ways in different regions, with different priorities among governments, companies, and consumers, said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of CERAWeek's organizer S&P Global.

CERAWeek, known as the Super Bowl in the global energy industry, draws over 9,000 government, industry and academic leaders from more than 80 countries and regions this year. It will run till Friday.