Hess warns of looming energy crisis

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The US must act immediately to form a comprehensive and sustainable energy policy to prepare for the coming energy crisis, Hess chief executive John Hess said.

“To sustain our economic growth and prosperity, we need a comprehensive long-term approach to energy,” he said at the Global Oil Plenary session at the CERAWeek conference in Houston. “We must act now.”
Growing oil demand is pushing the world towards crisis, he said, with a lag in investment hurting the industry’s ability to keep up with global energy needs.
“As demand grows in the next decade, we will not have the oil production capacity we will need to meet demand,” he said. “The $140 per barrel oil price of three years ago was not an aberration – it was a warning.”

Hess called for the US to moderate demand and increase supply of oil, which he said makes up 37% of the country’s energy use.
Improving energy efficiency is a necessary first step, he said, but political will is required if the US is to make a real dent in demand.
“It serves nobody’s purpose for our political leadership to vilify oil producers,” he said. “It might be good politics – but not good policy.”
“Our country needs to do everything it can to encourage more drilling to strengthen our energy security, including regulatory oversight to ensure protection of the environment.”

Source: upstreamonline.com