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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Competing in the net zero race
11/10/2023
6 min read
Feature
In the race to net zero, the oil and gas sector has a significant role to play using its extensive experience for the transition to renewable power. Bob Laslett and Toby Williams of project engineering and consultancy firm Laslett International put the picture in focus.
Today, humanity faces one of its most pressing and formidable challenges, given the profound and escalating impacts of climate change – as the world grapples with the grim reality characterised by a surge in extreme weather events, rampant wildfires, prolonged droughts and devastating floods. These ‘natural’ catastrophes are occurring with increased frequency and intensity, and can be directly attributed to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) that trap heat within the atmosphere. To avert an environmental disaster, our global leaders have set the challenge to achieve net zero by 2050.
But how will this be possible when our demand for oil has never been greater?
Driven by increasing populations, conflicts like the war in Ukraine and the pursuit of economic growth, US crude oil exports in 2022 increased to a new record of 3.6mn b/d, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and are forecast by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) to produce an additional 1.4mn b/d in 2023 (see Fig 1).