Speaker

Helge Lund President and Chief Executive Officer Statoil

At Wednesday's lunch Daniel Yergin, IHS CERA Chairman, welcomed Keynote Luncheon speaker Helge Lund, President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil ASA.

After noting that CERAWeek had turned into "a gas conference, at least this year," Mr. Lund remarked on changes in the US energy landscape. He said the development of shale gas provides the United States with a "more balanced energy future" and noted that this resource offers a means of curbing oil consumption, a reliable domestic energy source, and a way of boosting employment and value creation domestically. Natural gas also limits greenhouse gas emissions and enhances energy security because it is abundantly available domestically. Mr. Lund said that compared to Europe, the United States is well positioned because it can be "in control of its energy destiny."

Statoil became increasingly active outside of Norway several years ago and is now the third largest lease holder in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. Statoil looks to operate in areas where technology and operational competency are the keys to unwrapping value and considers the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to be such an opportunity. Statoil continues to seek investment opportunities in the United States, in large part because of the country's political and regulatory stability, developed infrastructure, and industry competencies.

Mr. Lund noted that although the public debate has faded since Copenhagen, he believes that climate change is one of the key factors that will shape the energy future. He advised the energy industry to engage the public in a dialogue about this issue because the industry is seen as part of the problem, yet its knowledge and resources can make it part of the solution. Mr. Lund stated that "oil and gas will continue to dominate the energy mix for decades" because hydrocarbons will be needed to supply demand fueled by population growth and rising standards of living around the world and because they are a very efficient form of energy. Mr. Lund said that he believes that a global climate change policy would be the best option because it would be less costly and more efficient, and there needs to be a "system that brings emissions down in a nondiscriminatory way." Statoil incorporates a price of carbon emissions into its decision making, updating it on a regular basis, and views this as a key factor that will differentiate it from competitors in the future.

Mr. Lund said that he is amazed by the focus on the most expensive methods for mitigating climate change instead of on natural gas. He said that increased natural gas use "represents a good climate strategy," particularly for the United States, with its development of shale gas and its need to replace a large amount of generation capacity over the next several years. He cited natural gas as the optimal cost-efficient solution for curbing emissions while renewable resources are still in development. He said that in the long term natural gas will become a more attractive commodity because it is plentiful, environmentally beneficial, and competitively priced, and he doesn't understand why the advantages of natural gas are not being fully employed.