Oil will stay as future energy source

Dubai: Oil and gas are not competitors of renewable energy but in the future, growing populations will need both, hydrocarbon experts and environmentalists concluded at a discussion on renewable energy held at the Gulf Research Centre (GRC).

Oil and gas is still a major source of energy for the future and the Gulf still holds the world's largest resources of oil and are "nowhere near running out", said Robin Mills, petroleum economics manager from Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis.

"There is no issue of shortage here but there is room for great improvement on efficiency," said Mills, who believes the point of peak oil has not been reached.

"We are not running out but demand is growing by 30 per cent since the millennium."

He added gas is a different matter and challenges are worrying, as highlighted by the recent power shortages suffered in Sharjah.

"Some states will not be able to meet demand. New gas fields exist but they are more of a challenge and expensive so current gas prices are not suitable," he said.

Mills added that carbon capture and storage offers a good solution to ‘disposing' of carbon but it has not been taken up as widely as was first imagined.

Energy demand is growing by seven per cent in the GCC region each year which will force the region to double its energy capacity by 2015, said Imen Bachellerie, a science and technology programme researcher at the GRC.

"To meet this demand for energy, the role of renewable energy should be exacerbated," she said.

While expectations are high for projects like Masdar City to reduce carbon emissions, research and development should be integrated through education and training, Bachellerie added.

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