According to Bob Dudley on the BP technology outlook 2018 report, energy resources remain abundant, but vary from region to region. It is less costly to reduce carbon emissions in power than in transport or heat. The report also provides some important new insights such as the potential for growth among electric and self-driving vehicles, the increasing competitiveness of wind and solar power, and the rapidly falling costs of batteries.

Undoubtedly, technology has the potential to achieve over the coming three decades. The changes in prospect are exciting and profound – such as digitization and artificial intelligence, the electrification of transport, and the scaling up of renewable energy. However, while such advances strongly support the transition to a low-carbon economy, they will not deliver it by themselves. Some further impetus will be needed, particularly policies that put a cost on carbon and encourage all of the ways in which emissions can be reduced – from greater energy efficiency and investments in low-carbon forms of energy to the wider use of carbon offsetting programmes.

Another important insight is the continued importance of natural gas. Natural gas can remain an integral part of the energy mix in a lower carbon world. It can be used in transportation as well as in heat and power, and it can be deployed along with carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) to provide the back-up that renewables need when used at scale. CCUS is a critical component of a lower-carbon future.

Digital technology is bound to continue to have a profound impact, including artificial intelligence, robotics and automation. Emerging technologies, such as those covered here, from laser drilling to new types of solar photovoltaic modules, could also disrupt the trends and economics of the energy system.

Summing up the following can be stated: new investments in long-term natural gas projects reflect strong growth and potential use in many technologies for decades to come. Digital technologies that are helping to discover and produce oil reserves – oil that will be used with increasing efficiency as vehicle technology evolves. Meanwhile, increased venturing investments in a range of high-technology start-ups, from bio-jet fuel made using domestic waste to artificial intelligence, embrace many new technologies that have potential to support the transition to a low-carbon energy system.

In the petrochemical business, the latest and the most significant innovations are not in the refinery and chemical upgrading but the Exploration and Production. Earlier uneconomical production sites became feasible to use because of the abundant of new technologies developed (fracking, shale oil, deep-water wells, horizontal drilling, and perforation, etc.). This is the main reason for the relatively low oil price.

At Siluria we are attempting to commercialize, for the first time, oxidative coupling of methane to ethylene. The technology has been with us since the early 80s but getting an economical process has been and continues to be a challenge. Siluria is aggressively pursuing some very promising options because this direct route of natural gas to chemicals (and fuels) is a very nice alternative to oil based routes and Fisher Tropsch.

Thank you Mr. Schammel. The efforts Siluria is putting in is wonderful. If the process gets commercial with much economical benefits, then it will be a major breakthrough for the industry.