Energy transition will take decades, will be 'multispeed:' Aramco chairman

The global energy transition will need decades to develop and various paths taken will occur at different speeds, the chairman of Saudi Aramco said Monday.

"A short-sighted narrative on the energy transition is [emerging] which could have strategic implication for the world's energy security," Yasir al-Rumayyan said at a conference in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. "This narrative assumes there is only one way the energy transition will proceed," and that it will unfold in the same way in every part of the world, he said.

Alternatives to fossil fuel that are being developed are starting from a small base, he said. More than 99% of the auto fleet is powered by conventional energy, and efforts to develop alternatives are already putting financial institutions under growing pressure, he said. "It is convincing stakeholders that oil and gas are not an essential and integral part of an orderly and long term energy transition," he said. "We must find new ways to push the boundaries of science, technologies and innovation to lighten the carbon footprint of oil and gas."