The oil market will remain tight for a while, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden expects. This will also keep fossil fuel prices high for longer, he said at a meeting in Stavanger.
Van Beurden, therefore, believes that the energy crisis will not be over after this winter. “It is possible that we will have to look for solutions for several winters to have sufficient gas and electricity.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was also at the conference in Norway and stated that the world will still need oil and gas in the coming years to ensure that society can continue to run. However, the wealthiest man on earth estimates the full transition to sustainable energy will take several decades.
In Musk’s view, limited exploration of new oil and gas fields is therefore still necessary. However, in the long term, he sees wind energy from the North Sea as a good energy source for Europe, especially in winter.
Suppose this is combined with batteries to collect the electricity that is not used immediately and to use it later. In that case, Europe can make a large part of its energy consumption sustainable.