Need for structural changes in economy: Rosneft CEO

Igor Sechin, CEO, Rosneft, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India; Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Foreign Minister of Qatar; Bernard Looney, CEO, BP; Jeremy Weir, Executive Chairman and CEO, Trafigura; Robert Dudley, Chairman, Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI); Ivan Glasenberg, former CEO, Glencore; Neil Chapman, SVP; Exxon Mobil, and the others discussed the pressing issues of the energy industry, current trends and measures to further promote the global energy transition XIV Eurasian Economic Forum. 

In his address, Sechin said the International Energy Agency estimates that, by 2050, about half of the technologies needed to achieve low-carbon development goals will still not be ready for deployment. The energy transition must be synchronised with the supply of energy, reliable supplies of metals and other materials, technological development, and the adjustment of consumer behaviour. 

“Without this, the basic concept reflected in the word ‘transition’ as a process evolving over time, will be unworkable”, he added. 

This year has clearly demonstrated that erroneous decisions in the area of climate policy can lead to serious negative consequences for the entire global economy and society, he said. 

“Not only oil and gas firms are at risk, but also banks and investors who may in fact be prohibited from investing in oil and gas,” he said. 

While the world’s leading oil and gas companies invested an average of $16 bn per year in exploration between 2011 and 2015, last year spending on hydrocarbon reserves replacement dropped threefold, to $5 billion. So, the level of global oil and gas reserves replacement has been declining for the fourth year in a row, Sechin said.