Shell Expects Energy Demand To Double Over Next 50 Years

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Global oil and gas company, Shell, expects energy demand to double over the next 50 years, with the global population heading towards 9.5 billion mark by 2060 and emerging economies lifting millions of people out of poverty.

Shell International Chief Political Analyst Dr Choo-Oon Khong said the scenario highlighted the need for business and government to find new ways to collaborate, foster policies that promote the development and use of cleaner energy and improve energy efficiency.

"This scenario shows how the choices made by the government, business and individuals in the next few years will have a major impact on the way the future unfolds," he told a media briefing on Shell's New Lens Scenarios Report here Wednesday.

The report, which explored two possible ways the 21st century could unfold, described the scenarios as "Mountains" and "Oceans".


He said the Mountains scenario described a world of relative stability where gas becomes the backbone of a cleaner global energy system replacing the large amounts of coal-fired power.

The scenario expected global natural gas consumption to increase by more than three-quarters by 2035 to become the largest global primary energy source in the 2030s, ending a 70-year reign of oil, he said.

Meanwhile, Khong said the Oceans scenario depicted a more volatile and prosperous world which sees solar becoming the top source by about 2070.

He said the scenario predicted a stronger global economic growth, compared with Mountains scenario, as international markets grow and prosper while different sections of the society realise their productive potential.

He added that solar energy would enjoy striking success among renewable energy success to become the fourth largest primary energy source by 2040 and the largest by 2070s.

"As income levels rise in the emerging economies, hundreds of millions of people will install solar panels to generate their own electricity, incentivised by high energy prices," he said.

Entitled "A Shift In Perspective For A World In Transition", the report looks to the year 2100 for trends in the economy, politics and energy.

-- BERNAMA