OIL COMPANIES TO SHED SKINS?

Stanislaw’s acknowledgement of the coming changes may actually register in the world of Big Oil where he is a long-time consultant and insider. He talked to them about what matters most to them, their bottom line.

Stanislaw: “The world after oil represents the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century. We are at the very beginning of a global race to create dominant green economies."

He told the oil and gas audience they must decide if they want to be seen as friends or foes of the environment. Oil companies, he told them, must be “…far more active in fostering the technology that will enable a new energy era…We have no time to lose."

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Were they paying attention? 2008 knows.

Deloitte: Stanislaw sees changing roles for oil companies
Paula Dittrick, December 17, 2007 (Oil & Gas Journal)

WHO
Joseph Stanislaw, veteran oil industry consultant and co-founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)

WHAT
In "Climate Change and Energy Security: The Future is Now" Stanislaw acknowledged a “new energy era” in which the public is more keenly aware of climate change and energy security issues that impact their wallets. He proposed changes in Big Oil’s way of presenting itself and doing business.

WHEN
Stanislaw presented his report December 12 at an oil aqnd gas conference. He asserted that the 2005 hurricane season was the turning point in climate change awareness.

WHERE
The conference at which Stanislaw spoke was in Houston, the capital city of the oil and gas world.

WHY
- Stanislaw suggested oil companies redefine themselves as high-value service companies providing “light, heat, and mobility in the most environmentally-acceptable way.”
- He said venture capitalists have financed 1000+ start-ups in Clean Tech and New Energy.
- He said consumers now pay attention to what and how they consume and they want new options.
- He said consumers are conserving to cut costs and want products like hybrid cars for the same reason and pointed that this will affect Big Oil’s bottom line.
- He described five adaptations by which corporations can facilitate a green economy: 1. new efficiency technology (energy audits, smart meters, smart appliances); 2. low-impact production processes (production as close as possible to the end market to cut transportation); 3. new "eco-chic" products and services (low-energy computers, cars, light bulbs); 4. "Greening" the brand (going carbon-neutral); 5. Developing New Energy alternatives.

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QUOTES
- Stanislaw, on what started the New Energy era: "Accurately or not, Katrina settled in the American imagination as proof of climate change, while underscoring the vulnerability of our energy supply system."
- Stanislaw, on the factors driving the New Energy era: “Until now, energy has largely been seen as the domain of giant multinational corporations and of mighty oil-producing nations…But because of the convergence of concerns about climate change and energy security, the picture that has emerged in the past year is a far more complicated, and yet more promising, one…
- Stanislaw, on the impact of consumers: ‘Consumer behavior can substantially reduce consumption…demand reduction is potentially the largest source of supply. It is this drive towards efficiency—enabled by end-use technologies that sip rather than chug energy—that must be put at the heart of the new energy era."
- Stanislaw, on the short term future: "Hydrocarbons will continue, of course, to absorb most of the $500 billion that the world invests each year in energy… energy superpowers such as Russia flex their muscles and as the might and market of China and India grow. And vast fortunes, both national and individual, will continue to be reaped from fossil fuels."
- Stanislaw on the long term future: “The essential question we now face is how best to arrive at a post-carbon world.”