Amin H. Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, speaks during an international conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Reuters
The CEO of oil giant Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser, has called on world leaders and energy managers to reconsider their approach to green transformation and abandon those aspects of it that have proved unsuccessful, Reuters reports.
His statement was made at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston on Monday, 11 March, which brought together executives from the world’s largest energy companies. Nasser criticised regulatory policies that restrict the development of the oil and gas industries, calling them “self-destructive”.
“It is time to stop supporting failure. Some initiatives in the energy sector are so far removed from reality that it is more likely that Elvis will talk than they will work,” he said, alluding to the high cost of producing green hydrogen, which has not yet become a massive energy source.
The US and Europe are reviewing green energy policies
The administration of US President Donald Trump has focused on maximising oil and gas production, departing from the policy of former President Joe Biden, who promoted legislation to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
In Europe, against the backdrop of rising energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has also been a slowdown in the implementation of green initiatives. Major European oil companies are reducing investments in renewable energy sources due to their low profitability.
Saudi Aramco insists on financial incentives for fossil fuels
Nasser stressed that new energy sources cannot completely replace hydrocarbons. He called on financial institutions to abandon their policy of restricting investment in oil and gas projects by providing them with “equal access to finance”.
As a reminder, Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil company, which determines the energy policy not only in the Middle East but also in the global market.
