CEO BP: Oil and gas will be in the global energy system ‘for decades’

“Oil giant BP is committed to tackling the climate crisis,” said Bernard Looney, the company’s chief executive, but oil and gas will remain in the energy sector for years.

“It may not be popular to say that oil and gas will remain in the energy system for decades to come, but that is the reality,” Bernard Looney told CNBC.

“What I want to do is focus on the goal and wish we had less ideological positions and were more focused on the goal, which in any case is to reduce emissions.” He said replacing coal with natural gas by reducing emissions “is a good thing”.

“So, any objective person who says that hydrocarbons have a role to play, the question that arises is: what about this? And you try to produce those hydrocarbons in the best possible way,” Looney said.

The comments from BP’s CEO come after the completion of COP26 on climate in Glasgow. Nearly 200 countries have agreed to “phase out” coal use, fossil fuel subsidies and improve financial assistance to low-income countries.

Looney said BP had made dramatic changes to focus on renewables, adding: “I do not think anyone who objectively judged BP would say we are not contributing to the transition.” “Over 12 months ago we had less than 10 gigawatts of renewable energy, today we have a pipeline of more than 23 gigawatts. Twelve months ago we had nothing in offshore wind. Today we are in the world’s largest and fastest growing markets in the US and “In the United Kingdom with 3.7 gigawatts. We had very little hydrogen, but today we have an excellent partnership with Adnoc and Masdar and BP will develop hydrogen over time,” he said.