During the new edition of its presentation “Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030,” ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM) stated that trillions of dollars of investment is required to cope with a 35% increase in energy demand by 2030.
While oil, natural gas and coal will continue to meet most of the world’s needs, the company emphasized natural gas as a major source of energy, reflecting its abundance, versatility and economic advantages as an efficient and clean-burning fuel for power generation.
The company forecasts an expansion of natural gas from unconventional supplies. Unconventional gas supplies – tapped through horizontal drilling and fracturing wells – are expected to satisfy more than 50% of gas demand by 2030.
Higher costs for carbon emission would impact energy prices and provide an incentive to switch to less carbon-intensive fuels such as natural gas, which can help meet growing electricity demand and help reduce power generation emissions by up to 60% versus coal, ExxonMobil said.
With a growing world population, alternative energy will also play an important role. Exxon expects wind, solar and biofuels to grow by about 10% a year through 2030 and comprise a 2.5% share of total energy by 2030. The company has raised it from the previous years’ guidance of 2.1%.
Exxon has been actively involved in the development of alternative energy. The company stated that it will invest $600 million over the next 5 to 6 years for algae-based biofuels and hinted the final development could cost billions. It will be the world’s largest biofuel development project of its kind.
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