Rex Tillerson, CEO, ExxonMobil

As we look to how we can meet our future energy challenges, it is clear that dialogue and understanding between all participants in the energy sector - producers, consumers and policymakers - will be critical to our success. The scale of the challenge is immense. Energy demand is expected to be about 35 percent higher by 2030 than it was in 2005, driven by population and economic growth in the developing world. The sheer size and scope of the world’s increasing energy needs requires a thoughtful, long-term approach to how participants in the energy sector can work together to meet these needs. In addition to the fundamental need for more energy to enable economic and social progress, we mu  ...

Peter Voser, Chief executive officer, Royal Dutch Shell

Throughout the economic crisis, governments have acted with decisiveness and imagination. In shoring up the financial system, policy-makers have acted across borders and against the clock. For the most part, shared interests have trumped more narrow national concerns. The energy challenge, no less global in scope, requires an equally urgent commitment to international co-ordination. And that must include an open and healthy dialogue between consumer and producer countries. The global energy challenge is two-fold. First is the need to find enough affordable energy to promote economic growth and reduce poverty around the world. And second is the requirement to stabilize and reduce the emissio  ...

Khalid A. Al-Falih, President & CEO, Saudi Aramco

Today, the petroleum industry finds itself buffeted by the aftershocks of the global financial crisis. Over the last year, both energy demand and crude oil prices have dropped sharply, as markets around the wor ld absorb the impact of the worst economic downturn in generations. And yet in the years and decades to come, global demand for energy – including petroleum – will increase markedly as a result of steady population growth and rising standards of living in the developing world, even as consumption in the OECD nations flattens. If we couple that fact with the essential role that petroleum plays in modern life, then the importance of the oil industry’s ability to serve as a reliable, re  ...

Dave O’Reilly, Chairman and CEO, Chevron Corp.

Today we confront one of the toughest challenges in our industry’s history: planning for the world’s long-term energy needs in the midst of the most serious global economic recession in decades. In the past, major economic downturns led almost invariably to a period of underinvestment in both energy-industry assets and people. The result? Another period of tight supply. Let me make the case for continued investment. Reliable, affordable and abundant energy helped drive the prosperous periods in the past, and it’s essential for a healthy global economy and social climate in the future. Our industry must continue to invest in assets and people, especially in crude oil and natural gas. Despit  ...

Saad Ali Al-Shuwaib, CEO, KPC

National Oil Companies are not only becoming more international in nature, but also more integrated, investing in refining and petrochemicals both at home and abroad. The role of national companies in the world oil industry has become more emphasized due to the ownership of huge resource base and the production of hydrocarbon substances, which help to expand the vital role of national oil companies in securing adequate supplies to the world to maintain energy demand, sustainability, prosperity and growth. With the fall in demand and the collapse in oil and gas prices, the oil industry is faced with many challenges. These include: the security of supply and investment required; security of   ...

Andrew Gould, Chairman & CEO, Schlumberger Limited

Schlumberger is the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions to customers working in the oil and gas industry worldwide. Founded in 1926, the company employed more than 82,000 people by the end of March 2008, who represented over 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries. Knowledge, technical innovation and teamwork are at the centre of Schlumberger’s operations, with the objective of delivering solutions that improve oil and gas companies’ performance. With 23 research and engineering facilities worldwide, and a research and engineering (R&E) investment of $819m, a strong emphasis is put on developing innovative techno  ...

Mr. Yongfa Xu, President of CNPC Research Institute

  In recent years, natural gas in China has witnessed rapid development and has become a spotlight in Chinese petroleum industry. Gas is increasingly revealing its great potential. During the years 2000-2007, the annual average newly-added proven gas reserves are over 500 BCM, and the annual growth rate of gas production is averaged at 14.8%. The accumulative newly-added gas reserve and production in the past few years surpassed the total in the previous 50 years. The length of the newly-built gas pipelines is more than 30,000 km. After the establishment of several trunk lines, such as “West-East Gas Pipeline” which transmits gas from Xinjiang to Shanghai, a gas pipeline network is comple  ...

Mr. Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Total

  The energy industry is going through a period of uncertainty that is characterized by extreme price volatility and by the gloomy short-term prospect of the global economy. But the current situation doesn’t alter fundamentally the basic drivers of our industry: oil and gas demand will continue to rise; supply is structurally tight, energy prices have no reason to remain low. We are facing two major challenges: energy transition and climate change. To maintain an adequate balance between supply and demand, it is both the oil producing countries and the IOCs’ responsibility to increase production. IOCs can offer their investment capacity and their ability to manage large projects supported  ...

Mr. Antonio Brufau Niubo, President And CEO, Repsol YPF

The competitive advantage of the international oil companies (IOCs) has been traditionally based on their great experience in the sector, on great investor muscle and on advanced technological development. However, forty years ago the IOCs had access to over 85% of the global reserves and they negotiated almost lifelong concessions with the governments of producer countries.Nowadays, the IOCs have access to only 14% of the proven global reserves and they are finding increasing difficulties in acquiring new oil and natural gas reserves. This new reality is translated into low reserve replacement ratios (RRRs).It is clear that the IOCs are seeing that their entry into projects with great poten  ...

Mr. Helge Lund, President And CEO, StatoilHydro ASA

Our industry deals with continuously increasing complexity. Technically, we are attacking deeper waters, harsher environments, heavier oils and tougher projects. Commercially, the competitive landscape is changing and the race for resources is more intense than ever. Politically, terms and conditions are under pressure all over the world. The resources we exploit influence the global power balance, generate cash flows that can make or break governments, and have a direct impact on all aspects of everyday life. Hydrocarbons go to the core of the challenge between energy security and demand on the one hand, and climate change on the other. It would be breaking news if resource access was easy   ...

Mr. Ernesto A. López Anadón, President, International Gas Union

This is the first time the International Gas Union (IGU) addresses you directly through this newsletter by invitation of the International Energy Forum Secretariat, for which we are both grateful and honoured.For those who do not know us, IGU is the world’s largest international forum of natural gas, currently covering 68 countries which represent over 95% of the gas traded in the world. Every triennium, its members – currently 100 between gas and energy organisations and companies – provide voluntary experts to the technical committees who conduct a number of studies and projects. These are presented at the World Gas Conference, on the closing of the triennium. The 24th World Gas Conference  ...

Dr. David J. O’Reilly , Chairman And CEO, Chevron Corporation

Dr. David J. O’Reilly was elected Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron Corporation in January 2000. A Chemical Engineer, he started his career with Chevron Research Co. in 1968. Dr. O’Reilly is a director and a member of the Executive Committee and Policy Committee of the American Petroleum Institute and a member of various national and international councils, including the World Economic Forum, National Petroleum Council and the Trilateral Commission.Chevron, a strong supporter of the IEF and the IEBF, has participated actively in the Joint Committee of representatives of industry that has advised 2nd IEBF Host and co-hosts on 2nd IEBF Host and co-hosts on themes and  ...

Helge Lund, President And CEO Of Statoil ASA

Mr. Helge Lund took up the post of President and CEO of Statoil in 2004. He had previously been Chief Executive of Aker Kvaerner. Before assuming executive positions in industry, Mr. Lund had been a political adviser to the Conservative Party in the Norwegian Parliament and a consultant with McKinsey & CO. A business economist, Mr. Lund is a graduate of the Norwegian School of Economics and Administration and has his MBA from Insead, France. Statoil is a member of the Joint Committee of companies that is advising host country Qatar on the development of the agenda of the 2nd International Energy Business Forum that will take place in conjunction with the 10th IEF Ministerial.In a period   ...

Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive Of Royal Dutch Shell

Mr. Jeroen van der Veer is Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc. He was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands and has degrees in mechanical engineering and economics. He joined Shell in 1971 and has worked in the Netherlands, Curaçao, United Kingdom and the United States. He was a Managing Director of Royal Dutch Petroleum from 1997 until the unification under Royal Dutch Shell in July 2005. He is a non-executive director of Unilever.Shell is a member of the Joint Committee of companies that is advising host country Qatar on the development of the agenda of the 2nd International Energy Business Forum that will take place in conjunction with the 10th IEF Ministerial.Mr. van der Veer attended  ...

Bjorn Stigson, President Of The World Business Council For Sustainable Development

Mr. Bjorn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, calls in this issue of the IEFS newsletter for new partnerships between governments, business, financial community and academia. He underscores the need for a global framework that ensures visibility and a level playing field and that enables action. Governments should agree on realistic and quantifiable long-term objectives for low-carbon strategies and technology choices. A financial analyst by training, Mr. Stigson has extensive experience in international business and been actively involved with the business sector response to the challenges of sustainable development. He was President and CEO of the   ...