Western desire for green energy will not doom oil and gas industry
- BP and Shell’s plans for massive cuts to their oil and gas budgets amid a shift towards renewables have sparked worry among Middle East oil producers
- Surging demand among developing countries for cheap, reliable energy sources such as oil, gas and coal will keep the industry afloat for decades to come

In the midst of this calamity, BP made a bombshell announcement in early August that it intended to slash its oil and gas output by 40 per cent from 2019 levels by 2030 through managing its investment portfolio in favour of low-carbon renewable energy. BP – known for its influential annual global energy statistics reports – had released its 2020 energy outlook, which suggested oil demand may already have peaked in 2019.
The other European oil major, Royal Dutch Shell, then reported a similar 40 per cent planned cut to its oil and gas exploration and development budget to “prepare for the energy transition”.

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BP’s outlook presented three scenarios – “business as usual”, a “rapid transition” towards a low-carbon renewable energy future and “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. The last two have 2019 as marking peak global oil demand, falling from 100 million bpd to 30 million bpd by 2050.
