ABSTRACT of Presentation

THIS REGULAR GENERAL MEETING LUNCHEON EVENT WILL BE HELD VIA WEBINAR AND IN-PERSON. TO REGISTER FOR THE IN-PERSON EVENT, PLEASE RETURN TO THE EVENTS PAGE TO FIND THE IN-PERSON LINK.

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Would the world be better off without fossil fuels? Emphatically “no” should be our answer. Because the issues around energy, poverty, and the environment are so important – and so often misunderstood – we will start there with the larger issues that form the Energy/ Environment/Poverty nexus.

This begins with why worldwide clean energy access matters. Since the oil and gas industry began in the second half of the 19th century, global life expectancy has doubled, extreme poverty has plummeted, and human liberty has grown tremendously. The timing here is no coincidence. This progress in the human condition was enabled by the surge in plentiful, affordable energy from oil, gas, and coal.

Unfortunately, many people still lack access to life-enhancing modern energy, which presents the most pressing global energy challenge. Our energy-rich lifestyles have both environmental downsides, such as pollutants and climate change, and upsides, like forest preservation, reduced need for cropland, and cleaner air.  We need to work passionately to better the process of bringing hydrocarbons to the surface in a clean, safe, and efficient fashion. 

The macro outlook for hydrocarbons is strong over the coming decades, and OFS companies will play a critical role in delivering that energy while continuing to advance the broader social, community, governance, environmental, and human flourishing aspects of energy.