Reliance on oil seen for 50 years

PARIS (AP) — Fossil fuels will supply the bulk of global energy needs for at least the next 50 years, the oil minister of OPEC’s biggest oil producer said yesterday.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi said told the International Oil Summit here that his country is boosting production and refining capacity to meet future demand.

“Moving from our current sources of energy, primarily fossil fuels, to a dominant new source will require at least half a century and perhaps more, given the various challenges associated with such a broad-based convergence,” he said.

“Fossil fuels can be and should be made environmentally friendly sources of energy, particularly as they will continue to meet the lion’s share of energy needs for the foreseeable future,” the minister said.

Mr. Naimi said carbon capture and storage will help clean fossil fuels, which “should be supplemented with truly renewable energy sources.”

Ethanol and other biofuels do not meet environmental and energy security goals, he said.

Their cultivation eats into the human food supply and reduces the absorption of carbon dioxide as forests are cut down but has not improved the security of the energy supply or reduced fuel prices, he said. Biofuels also enjoy “financial favoritism” from governments.

The Saudi minister flagged solar energy as “perhaps the best source” of alternative energy, predicting that researchers will succeed in making solar cells “more effective” to expand use.

Saudi Arabia, the most influential member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is spending more than $90 billion in the next five years to boost its production capacity, he said.

Saudi Arabia has 264 billion barrels of crude-oil reserves with the potential to increase this by at least 200 billion barrels, he said. Natural-gas reserves of 268 trillion cubic feet could be doubled.

Saudi Arabia also plans to double its refining capacity from 3 million to 6 million barrels per day, he said.

Oil prices slipped yesterday after jumping to a record close of $110.87 in the previous session on an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Mr. Naimi said prices are not rising because of a lack of supply.

“I believe inventories are building. The world is producing more oil than is being consumed,” he said.