“Realistically I think we have to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilization will collapse. One of the greatest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and a sustainable economy,” he said. “It will take a couple of decades to complete,” Musk told reporters at a conference in Norway on Monday. Asked if Norway should continue drilling for oil and gas, Musk said: “I think some additional exploration is required at this time.” Musk said that offshore wind power generation in the North Sea, combined with fixed batteries, “..could provide a robust, sustainable power source in the winter. ” Tesla is one of the most prominent manufacturers of electric vehicles on the planet, and electric vehicles play an important role in mitigating climate change. Last year, electric vehicles displaced 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, according to a BloombergNEF analysis. This may not seem like much in a context of global oil production of 100 million barrels. However, that number is expected to grow exponentially, with EVs on the road expected to nearly quadruple over the next four years to nearly 80 million from 20 million today. Indeed, BNEF has predicted that electric and fuel cell vehicles will displace 21 million barrels per day in oil demand by 2050. But as Musk has noted, the world’s appetite for oil isn’t going away anytime soon—quite the opposite. According to the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) report, increasing use of oil for electricity generation and the switch from natural gas to oil are currently boosting demand. Global oil demand is now forecast at 99.7 mb/d in 2022 and 101.8 mb/d in 2023. The IOC says global oil supply hit a post-pandemic high of 100.5 mb/d in July as maintenance stops in the North Sea, Canada and Kazakhstan. OPEC+ increased total oil production by 530 kb/d, in line with higher targets and non-OPEC+ increased by 870 kb/d. Global oil supply is set to rise by another 1 mb/d by the end of the year. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More top reads from Oilprice.com:
