Global oil giant British Petroleum (BP) stated that the world must increase investment in oil and natural gas production to avoid significant price surges, while also accelerating the energy transition to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
BP CEO Bernard Looney said that following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, 3% of the world’s natural gas supply was impacted, causing natural gas prices to soar sevenfold, forcing countries to increase energy spending and turn to coal. Governments should increase investment in oil and natural gas to avoid future severe fluctuations in energy prices while accelerating the energy transition.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global oil demand to reach a record-high of 2.2 million barrels per day this year. Looney stated that the energy transition must proceed orderly and that governments need to strike a reasonable balance between the energy transition and the supply and demand of energy.
BP and its partner Reliance Industries Ltd have invested in energy projects in India, establishing about 3,000 electric vehicle charging points to date, a significant increase from the 750 points in January. Looney said BP plans to invest $55 billion to $65 billion in the energy transition over the next decade.
In recent years, BP has invested in India's natural gas industry, and its venture capital unit has acquired shares in the electric ride-hailing startup blumart. BP anticipates more investments in India in the coming years.
