Accelerate Energy Transition While Recognizing Role Of Oil And Gas, Industry Bosses Say

Accelerate Energy Transition While Recognizing Role Of Oil And Gas, Industry Bosses Say

The floor of the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, USA. The 23rd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) – widely regarded as the oil and gas industry's most prestigious and high profile global event – returned to Houston, Texas, US on December 5, 2021 in a materially different setting compared to past outings. Described as the "Olympics" of the oil and gas business, the WPC has been held since London hosted the first round in 1933. When it was last in Houston in 1987 for the 12th WPC, the town took pride in calling itself the oil and gas capital of the world. But these days Houston seems to have gotten itself a new title, that of "The energy transition capital of world", with billboards to this effect greeting visitors to the burgeoning economic hub stateside. But visitors to Houston aren't the only ones mulling over the approaching energy horizon. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the staging of the WPC itself back by 12 months, oil demand and prices temporarily hit the floor. However, with the current market sentiment seesawing between promising vaccination drives and emergence of new COVID variants, Omicron being the latest, fossil fuel demand has rebounded