French energy giant Total predicts end to oil era

Sputnik news agency and radio 13:54 GMT 30.09.2020

According to oil and gas titan Total, its business focus, as well as that of its European peers, will shift towards low-carbon energy sources in the next few years, as the oil market becomes increasingly obsolete.

A leading French oil and gas company, Total, anticipates a potential peak for oil in the coming decade before it reaches a plateau by 2030, noting that natural gas "remains key" for the energy industry, according to Total's president of strategy & innovation Helle Kristoffersen, cited by Bloomberg.

While the French energy giant's forecast is considerably more conservative than that of its British rival BP, who earlier this month said the era of the oil market was already over, it still joins the chorus of investors predicting drastic changes for the industry.

Total's Energy Outlook report, published on Tuesday, focuses on increasing energy demand in all analysed scenarios, but it is predicted to be largely met by low-carbon power.

The demand for electricity will hit the benchmark of 30 to 40 percent of the total in 2050, significantly up from today's 20 percent, the report states, further outlining a positive outlook for the company’s main product, natural gas, a top priority less carbon-intensive bridge fuel in the coming years.

It said gas demand is expected to be led by Asia, which will account for around 40% of worldwide growth, with volumes more than doubling in China and India. The peak for gas demand and production is not expected before 2040.

Like its other European partners, Total, one of the seven so-called "supermajor" oil companies in the world, is set to zero in on clean alternative sources of energy, such as solar and wind, putting a business focus on promising solar battery technologies and car-charging networks, expected to be in high demand soon.