Abu Dhabi: The United States’ shale oil production is expected to grow from its current capacity of 8.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to 9.6 million bpd by 2019, US Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, said on Tuesday.
Poneman, who was in Abu Dhabi to give a lecture titled, “Energy and Security in a Changing World,” discussed cooperation between the US and the UAE, saying that both countries remain strong partners.
“The US is and will remain deeply involved in this region and in the UAE. The UAE has long played a stabilising role in the region. It is a significant supplier [of oil] … and its production levels are very solid and strong,” he said.
The deputy energy secretary said that the United States’ increasing shale oil production has allowed the country to become a net exporter after years of importing energy.
However, Poneman assured that “the US would not turn its back on the UAE” in case it no longer needs to import oil, because both parties are interested in oil supply around the world, as well as moderating prices..
“Today, 40 per cent of our natural gas production comes from shale annually. [Shale] has utterly transformed our energy economy. In the last four to five years, reliance on imports of oil dropped from 60 per cent to less than 40 per cent,” Poneman said.
To achieve such significant levels of shale production, the US has invested a total of $137 million from 1978 till 1992 in order to use technology to facilitate shale production.
With oil prices currently at around $115 per barrel for brent crude oil, Poneman said that price fluctuations are only natural, and that oil prices going up and down is a trend “that has been happening since the beginning of time.”
During his lecture, Poneman also discussed renewable energy saying that the US and the UAE share an interest in preserving world climate. He noted that the US is focused on, and has already been able to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
“We are now half way through achieving a 17 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases, [which is President Obama’s strategy] by 2020,” he confirmed, adding that the US has invested $5.9 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emission from cars.
The investment saw car manufacturers such as Ford, and Nissan, implement technology to reduce carbon emission.
By 2035, the US reliance on coal is expected to subside, while natural gas reliance is set to continue to grow.
Poneman added that Obama’s presidency and attention to renewable energy sources has resulted in 14 gigawatts of new wind power, which brings the US total wind power to 60 gigawatts. The US has also been able to achieve 15 gigawatts of solar energy. In terms of nuclear energy, the US currently gets just under 20 per cent of its electricity from nuclear energy.
“Nuclear energy, if pursued in a safe manner, can play an important role for energy in the future,” Poneman said.
Asked about the potential impact of the disruption in Iraq on the prices of oil, Poneman told Gulf News, “We’ve been watching the situation very very carefully. So far, markets have not responded in a disproportionate way. There are no disruptions in the south or the supply in the south, but we will continue to watch the situation.”
