Keeping the lights on: oil and gas development in a low-carbon world

Abstract

The world exists in an era of decarbonisation and energy transition, where the impacts and experiences vary widely across jurisdictions. In recent years, the trend against funding oil and gas projects has grown, and the uncertainty of investment has contributed to commodity price volatility and heightened concerns regarding energy supply and security in the mid to long term. This volatility and rapidly rising commodity prices have been exacerbated recently by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with associated sanctions and turmoil in energy markets. These market realities are broadly impacting resource-exporting and -consuming countries, energy companies, workers, consumers and the global economy. While there is a widely accepted recognition that energy transition must happen, global unrest and market realities are demonstrating that it also needs to occur in an orderly and properly paced fashion that is economically and politically sustainable, in order to mitigate adverse outcomes. This summary reflects expert panelists’ exploration of the balancing act of keeping the oil and gas industry healthy and stable in an era of transition, focusing on two themes: the need to continue to support the development of oil and gas projects that are aligned with current and future climate standards; and the regulatory trends to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions and achieve the right pace of energy transition, while ensuring that ‘the lights stay on’ and other sustainable development goals are also met.