ExxonMobil Addresses Conference on the Unique and Growing Importance of the Middle East
IRVING, Texas, Jun 9, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In an address today at the 13th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference in Bahrain, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) Director and Executive Vice President Harry Longwell discussed the role that evolving market forces, new technologies, and the shared interests of state-owned enterprises, international oil companies, and governments will play as the petroleum industry manages future challenges and responds to new global opportunities, particularly in the Middle East.
Noting that oil and gas, which currently represent 60 percent of energy supplies, will remain the dominant energy source in this century, Mr. Longwell emphasized the unique importance of the Middle East in coming decades in meeting growing demand for oil and gas and accommodating the shift to more remote resources.
With the Middle East holding nearly two-thirds of the world's conventional crude and condensate reserves, producing nearly a third of the world's oil, and contributing more than half of the world's exports, Longwell asserted, "The Middle East will remain the largest and most important supplier of oil for decades to come."
Furthermore, he stated, the growth in production capacity required to satisfy future global demand for oil and gas will rely on three key elements: the effective use of appropriate technology, substantial capital investment, and government policies that facilitate activities necessary to grow production capacity. "We expect that around 20 percent of our worldwide upstream capital expenditures will be in the Middle East through the end of this decade; and this could be larger, with potential new openings," said Longwell.
Longwell noted that the Middle East will play an increasingly important role in the future. "Working as partners," he said, "the states within the region and international oil companies will forge ever-stronger ties. In so doing, we will meet the world's continuing need for energy and help improve the lives of people everywhere."
Offering a perspective on the future, Longwell said, "I have every confidence that our industry's best years lie ahead -- surpassing even the greatest achievements of the century gone by -- a future in which our people continue to bring capital, technology, innovation, performance, and integrity as the absolute prerequisites for success in our partnerships."
SOURCE: Exxon Mobil CorporationExxonMobil,Irving Tom Cirigliano, 972-444-1109