Oil Sector Leaders Strike Confident Stance In Riyadh

3 May 2024 Issue: 67 / 18 By: Jamie Ingram

Recent years have seen the energy transition emerge as the dominant sectoral narrative. But energy security is now gaining the upper hand. Coupled with growing awareness that developing affordable cleaner alternatives is a long process, senior hydrocarbon sector officials are increasingly confident in the long-term outlook for oil and gas.

The demonization of oil and gas for nearly the last decade…is turning, there is an understanding that there is a need for oil and gas for the long term,” Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida al-Kaabi told this week’s ‘Special Meeting’ of the World Energy Forum (WEF) in Riyadh.

The Qatari minister’s comments were representative of a growing self-confidence from senior oil and gas officials that the industry narrative is swinging back in their favor. Senior officials throughout the two-day WEF event were bullish on the long-term demand picture for their core products, as initial optimism from policymakers on a swift transition to alternative energy sources begins to fade, and they are increasingly pitching a message of a strong future, albeit a decarbonized one, for their industry. (CONTINUED - 1003 WORDS)