The end is nigh for oil
Fossil fuel merchants including oil companies are living on borrowed time, argues a new book
Transition is energy's new buzzword. Benign as it sounds, for oil companies and many utilities it means the game is up. Or will be. Sometime. A consensus about when hasn't emerged. But predictions of the end are legion these days. Dieter Helm's new book, Burn Out, is the latest. It's long on hunches, short on detail. Helm's thesis is straightforward. Three "predictable surprises" are in store: the end of the commodity super-cycle and the fall in oil and gas prices over the long term; decarbonisation; and technological revolution. The oil companies that dominate today are doomed, though they don't realise it. Their businesses simply can't exist alongside the climate imperative. There is a "ba
Also in this section
1 May 2024
Energean CEO Mathios Rigas looks to results of critical Anchois appraisal well
30 April 2024
While its regional neighbours reap the rewards of oil and gas success, Iraq’s hydrocarbons sector is lagging behind
29 April 2024
Although recent, firmer gas prices have blunted some price-sensitive demand, the overall growth outlook remains robust
26 April 2024
While the US has been breaking records for its premium grade crude, there are doubts over whether you can have too much of a good thing