LONDON — The renewable energy industry is not ready to shoulder the “heavy” global energy demand right now, Amin Nasser, chief executive of Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, said on Tuesday.
“We are working on a lot of energy, clean energy projects as a company as part of the transition in renewables, e-fuels, hydrogen and all of that. But at the same time we don't think — or believe — that renewables are yet ready to shoulder the heavy burden of the global demand we're seeing right now,” Nasser told a crowd at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.
The boss of the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil firm said that the demand for crude was still strong — in June it was at a record high of 103 million barrels per day (bpd).
“This is in the middle of economic headwinds and China didn't pick up fully in terms of [orders for oil] … and the aviation industry as well is still continuing to grow to 90-95% of pre-COVID levels,” Nasser added. China’s slow reopening and economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic meant that demand from the world’s largest oil buyer was more muted than analysts had expected.
