The world’s energy outlook may not be as bad as some people predict -- but a team effort may be needed to keep it that way.
Robert Ryan, vice president of global exploration for Chevron, offered that assessment during a speech at the Division of Professional Affairs luncheon in Long Beach.
“I tend to blow off peak oil,” Ryan said, but he added that there are five areas of “discovery” potential that could make or break the world’s energy future:
♦ Exploration: “The world is full of undiscovered resources,” he said. Citing the Wilcox trend as a success story, he asked, “What other huge basins of the world have been under-explored?”
♦ Recovery: “Imagine if you increase recovery by just a few percent -- a few percent,” he said. “The increase can be huge. There’s a lot to recover.” And turning to coalbed methane and tight gas, he added, “there are lots of resources.”
♦ Renewables: Geothermal energy, bio-fuels, hydrogen and other renewables all are needed for our energy future. “If they don’t contribute in a big or even a small way, we won’t make it.”
♦ Efficiency: “If we reduce our domestic use by 1 percent a year, we’ll save 180 million barrels a year.”
♦ Talent: New geoscientists must be added to the mix -- and quickly -- to ensure future supplies. “The wave is cresting” on the industry’s current group of explorers, he said.
“These are the areas that we need,” he said. “We need all discoveries to meet the challenge.”