June 2010 Vol. 237 No. 6

Projects

World Needs Fossil Fuel Until 2050, Shell Says

The world will remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels for the next 40 years, said Shell Chief Executive Peter Voser at an energy conference in Singapore on May 5.

Despite the upsurge in alternative sources, fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal, will remain the dominant source for meeting increasing world energy demand until at least 2050, he said.

“Energy demand will double between now and 2050. We have roughly 80% of fossil resources delivering the energy demand today. We still see this at around 60%,” he said. Alternative and renewable energy sources will only garner 30-40% of market share within the same time-frame, Voser said.

“There will be continuous need for fossil resources over the next decades in order to actually allow renewables and other energy sources the time to technically develop, commercialize and build market share,” he said.