Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser says ‘realistic’ green policies would be good for U.S. | Wilnesh News

The chief executive of the world’s largest oil producer said on Tuesday that “realistic” green transition standards would benefit the U.S. energy industry as the White House prepares to welcome President-elect Donald Trump in January.

Asked to comment on the possibility of a U.S. government being more favorable to hydrocarbons, Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, said: “I think you know, policymakers will certainly help them shape their policies. and Standards… Expanded Energy.

He spoke on a panel moderated by CNBC’s Dan Murphy during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum in Riyadh.

Saudi Aramco, in line with Saudi Arabian authorities and several of Riyadh’s allies in the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers, has repeatedly advocated for a global energy transition that would grow renewables while still using fossil fuels to avoid supply shortage. Critics, meanwhile, question Riyadh’s commitment to fighting global warming.

Aramco itself aims to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its assets by 2050, and earlier this year suspended long-touted plans to increase maximum oil production capacity. Scope 1 and 2 emissions cover direct and indirect emissions from sources owned and controlled by the company or its procurement and use.

“I think when you look at the transition and the policymakers, you know, you know the unrealistic view, they always want to have a quick transition, they put forward certain tasks,” Nasser said on Tuesday. “But the directives or The policy will not take into account the economy.”

As an emerging renewable energy source, there are still questions about whether hydrogen is economically viable for large-scale consumption – despite lower production costs expected to decline Within a few years. Trump, meanwhile, has previously condemned hydrogen vehicles, claiming they are “explosion-prone.”

The US president-elect’s broader climate policies are now in the spotlight, with activists frustrated that the Republican politician could once again pull Washington out of the 2015 Paris Agreement – a key framework aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. . It would mark a U-turn from outgoing President Joe Biden’s pro-climate action administration, whose legacy bills – the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act – supported green projects.

Current U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in an interview with CNBC last month that Trump may decide to revoke these measures, which would affect employment in Republican-controlled areas and constitute “political fraud.”

“I think in the United States they will take the approach that suits them to expand and accelerate their industry,” Nasser said Tuesday of Washington’s transition plan.

Trump has made fossil fuels a top priority on his campaign agenda, pledging to “end Biden’s delays in unlocking federal drilling licenses and leases needed for U.S. oil and gas production.” In mid-November, the president-elect tapped Chris Wright, an oil and gas industry veteran and staunch defender of fossil fuels, to lead the Department of Energy.

U.S. oil production has continued to increase under Biden’s presidency and will hit a record U.S. and global oil output of 12.9 million barrels per day by 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said March says.