The executives, meeting at a high-profile energy conference in Houston,
voiced their concerns in the wake of a White House proposal to slash US
imports of foreign oil by quintupling the use of biofuels within 10
years.
"Let's start with the recognition that, given projections of a 50
percent increase in global energy use by 2030, we will need all the
energy we can develop, in every potential form," said Chevron Chairman
and Chief Executive Dave O'Reilly on Tuesday night.
In addresses to investors, academics, and analysts attending the annual
Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference, executives from
leading companies warned that there is no instant gratification for
energy security.
They said securing ample energy supplies for the United States, the
world's biggest energy consumer, required diverse sources of crude and
natural gas as well as incentives for construction of coal and nuclear
power plants.
Calls for energy independence or weaning the United States from foreign crude were rejected.
"The path to energy security .... lies in open international trade,
competitive markets, diversity of supply and the strengthening of
partnerships between producing and consuming nations," Exxon Mobil
Corp.
Chairman and Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said in a Tuesday speech.
Oil company executives said the United States should open up more
offshore areas to drilling -- something that has been stalled by
widespread environmental concern.
Companies that rely heavily on dependable energy said they were also
encouraging a policy that would lead to flexible and diverse supplies.
"What we do today will impact us in 2025," said Theo Waltie, senior
energy adviser to Dow Chemical Co. in a Wednesday presentation. "In
fact, 2025 is here."
The oil industry has been beset by heavy criticism in recent years for
raking in record profits while consumers pay high prices for gasoline,
heating fuels and electricity.
The head of the American Petroleum Institute, an association of US
energy companies, said industry CEOs were making a concerted effort to
improve the public's understanding of the oil business.
"The CEOs are out now," API president Red Cavaney said. "We came to the
realization the public just doesn't know about our business. Too often
the public reaction is prices are too high, profits are too high, and
people want to take out that rage without thinking through the
consequences."
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