British Council-The oil industry

Transcript of the podcast

Presenter 1: Next on today’s news, a report just published today by the International Energy Agency predicts a sharp increase in demand for oil and gas over the next 30 years. Our reporter Shahina Jamal has more details

Shahina: World Energy Outlook is the name of the annual report published by the Parisbased International Energy Agency. It contains some interesting predictions and looks at the implications for the world’s energy supply. According to the Outlook, “Fossil fuels will continue to dominate global energy use.” And the world’s reliance on oil and gas is expected to increase sharply

With me today to talk about the report is Professor David Jones from the Energy Research Institute in London. Professor Jones, where will this surge in demand come from

David: The IEA predicts that global energy demand will soar by nearly 60% over the next 30 years. And the forecast suggests that more than two thirds of the increase will come from developing countries, principally India and China, as a consequence of their fast economic growth. This growth will include a massive rise in the levels of car ownership

?Shahina: What are the implications of this huge increase in demand

David: Well, on the positive side, there is still more than enough oil and gas in the ground to meet this growing demand until 2030 and beyond. But there is also an obvious downside: The rise in carbon dioxide emissions and the impact this will have on the world’s climate

.Shahina: In fact, the report predicts a 55% rise in emissions over the next 30 years

.David: Yes, that’s right. Most of this rise will come from cars, lorries and power stations

?Shahina: What are the other issues raised by the IEA’s report

David: One important point is the issue of energy security. It’s likely that the world will become more vulnerable to disruptions in supply. You see all the countries that are big consumers of energy this now includes China and India can’t produce enough energy domestically. And so they are becoming more and more dependent on oil and gas imports. And these imports come from a very small group of distant producer countries, some of which are politically unstable. The Outlook predicts more risks because wells and pipelines could be closed or tankers could be blocked by piracy, terrorist attacks or accidents

.Shahina: The report concludes that governments have an important role to play

David: Yes, that’s right. Changes could be achieved by firstly improving efficiency of energy use and secondly by increasing the use of nuclear and renewable power sources. The bottom line is that technological advances are needed to radically change how we produce and use energy, and governments need to be the driving force behind the search for new energy supplies

.Shahina: Thank you Professor Jones. Now back to the studio

Answers

N1. B N2. D N3. A N4. C N5. E N6. F