Speaking at the Barclays Capital conference in New York Andrew Gould, chief executive of oilfield services giant Schlumberger said that if the world is to have any chance of meeting aggressive demand growth for energy in the years to come it will require a massive investment by oil companies and a need for ever more advanced technology.
Gould also said that right now the world is still enjoying a sufficient supply of oil discovered back in the years following the price spike of the early 1980s. Sluggish investment in the 1990s and 2000s has only begun to be ameliorated by an uptick in exploration triggered by the boom period of 2003 to 2008.
Much more is needed, Gould said. He cited as a warning the International Energy Agency’s forecast for global energy demand to grow 40% by 2030, with coal, oil, and gas expected to supply 80% of energy needs. To find and develop the resources to supply that demand will require an investment of $350 billion a year for the next two decades. The industry spent an estimated $300 billion in 2008 and $245 billion in 2009.
It can be done, but to find resources to meet demand, “the industry will be challenged by more remote operations, deeper waters, more difficult logistics, increasingly complex geological settings and greater degrees of temperature and pressure.”
Read more: Forbes