Fossil fuels will continue to exist

According to the news of the oil price network on February 6, Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said in a keynote speech at this year’s company’s annual meeting: "Oil and gas resources will not disappear

These hopes and ambitions envision a world where human activities are powered only by electricity, which in turn uses only renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower to generate electricity

However, such a world is unrealistic

Take Germany as an example

At the time of writing, its carbon intensity is 264 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt hour

Therefore, it seems that the establishment of renewable energy is not a panacea in itself to solve the emission problem

Even Denmark has thermal power plants to ensure the basic load required for the normal operation of any grid and to eliminate or at least reduce the risk of power outages

Back to Simonelli's predictions about a secure future for oil and gas

First, energy efficiency will be an important part of this transformation

Recently, efficiency has been faded out of sight, replaced by the concept of green hydrogen fuel and continuous emission reduction, but it has not disappeared

In addition to improving efficiency, large oil companies have also made various commitments under pressure from investors, regulators, and activists

Cao Haibin excerpted and translated from the oil price network