Imatim
Well-known member
.......................part 2
If, as Olsen says, the future level of oil demand is coming into question as governments address the issue of combatting climate change, forecast production levels at Johan Sverdrup would seem to indicate that it’s all right to export the stuff so long as you don’t use it at home. As one commentator said: “Norway appears to have cleaned up its act, but it’s just a case of ‘drug user turned drug dealer’.”
With today’s ultra-low interest rates and tumbling stock markets brought about by the Covid-19 heath crisis, there seems plenty of room left for a U-turn as Norway is faced with the prospect of reining in public spending from its economically stagnating – albeit temporarily – sovereign wealth fund.
Meanwhile, Britain’s domestic energy mix has a far higher dependency on oil than Norway’s. According to the UK government Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, “over half of the UK’s electricity comes from clean sources including wind and solar energy. However, oil and natural gas are still required for heating, cooking and transport, and vital to the production of many everyday essentials like medicines, plastics, cosmetics and household appliances.” The statement goes on to admit that this scenario “is likely to remain the case over the coming decades as the UK transitions to low-carbon solutions”.
Speaking at the launch of a government review aiming to ‘lead the way on tackling climate change’ Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said that the oil and gas sector “will continue to be needed for the foreseeable future as we move toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050”.
As with Norway, the UK’s much trumpeted intention to clean up its act at home is highly visible in any amount of government publications, strategy documents, news conferences and white papers. The fact remains that despite the stated commitment to zero carbon emissions by 2050, i
body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) predicts that oil and gas will still provide two-thirds of total primary energy by 2035.
The picture is further confused by the recent closure of mature North Sea fields and massive falls in oil prices in the wake of Covid-19 – in April, US oil futures actually went negative for the first time in history, with the result that producers were effectively paying people to take it off their hands. OGUK said this would mean “more insolvencies and consolidations in the market”, in a sector worth £12bn and supporting over a quarter of a million jobs in the UK. For now it’s pinning its hopes on a government North Sea Transition Deal.
n 2020 the UK became a net exporter of oil for the first time in 15 years, while industry
A good read that Kelly...