Aramco boss: Khalid Al-Falih
Saudi Aramco chief warns of 'green bubbles'
Saudi Aramco chief Khalid Al-Falih warned today of "green bubbles" and expressed worry about "assumptions" in the political realm that alternative energy sources could "transform the face of energy overnight".
Speaking at the Ceraweek 2010 conference in Houston organised by IHS Cera in a keynote address, Al-Falih said the "pace" of implementing alternative energy is an "open question".
The "over promise" and "under deliver" of such technologies could lead to "green bubbles", he said, which could collapse and damage their potential for success in the long term.
"Hydrocarbons will remain the dominant source for the foreseeable future... many decades to come," Al-Falih said.
He added that he is glad Secretary Hillary Clinton "echoes" that view.
Clinton delivered a videotaped introduction to the conference before Al-Falih's opening keynote, in which she acknowledged that "we will continue to rely on hydrocarbons" as the world makes the slow transition to a "clean, low-carbon economy".