Abu Dhabi: The senior vice-president of ExxonMobil Corporation, one of the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas companies, said yesterday that the UAE and other nations in the Middle East are "lynchpins in the production of energy and the search for environmental solutions".
Andrew Swiger, who was speaking on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, said the UAE was "not simply a major producer of energy but a major consumer as well" during a plenary session on delivering energy in the low carbon era.
Evolution
Swiger said: "We are at a strategic point in the evolution of energy; a time where the demands for greater energy supplies and the demands for fewer carbon dioxide emissions are converging. As world leaders in the production of energy and the search for environmental solutions, the UAE and the other nations of the Middle East are lynchpins in this convergence.
"As the global economy recovers from recession, growing populations worldwide will continue to seek higher standards of living and therefore requiring greater amounts of energy.
"The correlation between the trends of economic growth and energy demand is clear. We certainly witness them at work in the UAE and other nations in the region, which are quickly becoming not only major producers of energy but major consumers as well.
"On a global scale, energy demand is expected to increase by approximately 25 per cent between now and the year 2030.
"This enormous increase is more pronounced in developing countries, which will account for approximately 95 per cent of this growth."
Formed
ExxonMobil was formed in 1999 by the merger of Exxon and Mobil and is the largest publicly traded petroleum and petrochemical enterprise in the world. Representatives of Schlumberger, Total, Dana Gas and Abu Dhabi's Masdar City were also represented at yesterday's plenary session.
Swiger added: "Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to climb in many developed countries but trends also point to sizeable increases in developing countries; reflecting a fast-pace of economic growth and improved standards of living for growing populations. Therefore, we are not simply entering a low-carbon era but also a high energy demand era."
