Interesting reading from an interesting source!
Tuesday February 9, 3:11 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: ARCO
ARCO Chairman Says Last Days of Oil Age Have Begun: Calls on U.S. Energy Industry
to Meet Clean Fuel Challenge
HOUSTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The 21st Century will bring a dramatic ''new look'' to the U.S. energy industry, with cleaner-burning natural gas and renewable motor
fuels playing decisive roles in the energy mix of the future, ARCO (NYSE: ARC - news) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike R. Bowlin told a meeting of industry
leaders here today.
Speaking at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates' 18th annual executive conference, Bowlin said the world is entering ''the last days of the Age of Oil,'' and the energy
industry must respond wisely or face the consequences.
''Global demand for clean energy -- natural gas, renewables, electricity and new energy technologies -- will grow faster than overall demand for energy, including oil and
coal,'' said Bowlin, who heads the nation's fifth largest oil and gas company.
''Ten or fifteen years from now there still will be a large and healthy market for oil -- of course. We hope that it would be a healthier market than today. But it is also true that
the market share for oil will diminish, as the demand for other forms of energy grows.''
The energy equations of the 21st Century, focusing on alternative fuels, will leave oil and gas companies with a critical choice, said Bowlin: ''Embrace the future and
recognize the growing demand for a wide array of fuels; or ignore reality and slowly -- but surely -- be left behind.''
Bowlin predicted that natural gas, which he described as ''a still under- appreciated energy source,'' will be vital for economic growth in the developing world. He described
ARCO as ''a believer in an expanding role for gas in Asia'' where liquefied natural gas (LNG) may account for up to a tenth of total energy demand by 2010.
''We all have a stake in a prosperous society and a clean environment,'' said Bowlin. ''To ensure both, our industry must be able to deliver a competitively priced product that
meets the demands of our customers and government.''
Bowlin called on the energy industry to join automakers in a major new effort to develop clean fuels. ''Working cooperatively with the autos to determine the most
cost-effective combination of vehicle and fuel technologies is the key to achieving our mutual goals,'' Bowlin said. As an example of industry initiative, he cited ARCO's role in
developing reformulated gasoline in California, where ARCO is headquartered. In 1989, ARCO introduced the world's first cleaner-burning gasoline, EC-1, at its Los
Angeles-area stations. Ultimately, reformulated gasoline was mandated for all of the state.
''The issues of the day -- while demanding our attention -- should never prevent us from planning for tomorrow,'' Bowlin said. ''I believe that the energy industry of the 21st
Century will be more competitive, more diverse and more dynamic than today. The challenge is not merely to survive today's low prices, but to plan for a future in which
hydrocarbons are just one of a wide variety of fuels that will build the global economy of the 21st Century.''
ARCO is a worldwide integrated hydrocarbons corporation with operations encompassing all aspects of the oil and gas business: exploration, production, refining, and
marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. ARCO has significant operations on the North Slope of Alaska and in the Western United States, Gulf of Mexico,
China, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom North Sea.
SOURCE: ARCO
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