The modern economy is built upon our industry and will continue to be heavily reliant upon it through and beyond the energy transition. No doubt stemming from the practices and reputation of certain companies* and a tendency for media to single out (or stereotype) one industry as ‘the bad guy’, particularly in the eyes of younger generations, our industry is becoming a convenient scapegoat for journalists and wider society. Hamish Wilson’s commentary puts forward the following alternative points to which awareness should be increased:
• The world continues to demand and rely upon hydrocarbons. To prevent the social disruption caused by demand outstripping supply, production must continue whilst that demand exists.
• The major discoveries of the recent years, driven by the need to secure future supplies, are in developing countries. We cannot demand that developing countries forgo the right to develop and advance as we already have.
• Displacement of fossil fuels with renewables, or perhaps more pragmatically of coal and liquid fuels with a combination of cleaner gas and renewable sources, is not happening fast enough. Therefore the focus for public action on climate change could instead be to reduce energy demand.
* – Several big players on one hand are promoting a cleaner energy brand in developed countries, whilst on the other continuing to irresponsibly flare vast amounts of natural gas in less developed countries. We believe that management at all levels can take steps to drive forward changes in these practices, regardless of whether a particular country of operation has a lack of regulation against it. At MFDevCo we can monetize what is often considered/reported as ‘non-commercial gas’ through Gas2Wire. We are uniquely positioned to provide this to an existing project, to curb these emissions.