ARCO Chairman Says Last Days of Oil Age
Have Begun
by: Rickmas
2983 of 2983
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 |
