Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin discusses energy industry prospects

Sechin also presented a roadmap for improving the efficiency of the Russian energy sector in the face of unprecedented external challenges

Dubai, June 19, 2023 – An Energy Panel was held as part of the XXVI St Petersburg International Economic Forum and Rosneft’s Chief Executive Director Igor Sechin gave the keynote speech at the event.

In his report “Sodom and Gomorrah in the Energy Market: God’s Wrath or Organized Chaos? Save Yourself if You Can”, he presented an analysis of the energy transition and climate changes. He paid special attention to the volatility of the global financial and economic systems, the US banking crisis, and the declining role of the dollar as a reserve currency.

Sechin also presented a roadmap for improving the efficiency of the Russian energy sector in the face of unprecedented external challenges. He claims that the critical issue is the price of the energy transition. According to the assessment made by the IEA, by 2030 investment in “clean energy” should grow almost threefold from the current US$ 1.7 trillion to US$ 4.6 trillion per year, that is, from 2% to 5% of world GDP.

“The green energy transition is not a free lunch,” Sechin said. “It will require enormous investments and will have a significant impact on the global economy. We need to be realistic about the costs and benefits of this transition and make sure that it is done in a way that is fair and sustainable for all.”

McKinsey estimates that achieving Net Zero will require at least US$ 9.2 trillion in annual spending until 2050 (which is US$ 250 trillion) on major industries alone: energy, transportation, industry, utilities, agriculture, and forest-climate projects, of which US$ 3.5 trillion is for new low-emission assets and associated infrastructure.

The event was attended by CNPC Chairman Dai Houliang; Managing Director of ValPro India, Govinda Kottis Satish; Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ICEF (Innovation for Cool Earth Forum), a non-profit low-carbon technology initiative of the Japanese government; Executive Director of the International Energy Agency from 2007 to 2011 Nobuo Tanaka; President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovshan Najaf; Vice President of China and Asia Pacific’s leading university, Tsinghua University, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Jiang Peixue; Chairman and CEO of Oil & Petroleum Holding International Resources (OPHIR) Pedro A. Aquino Jr.; Martin Wiewiorowski and CEO and Managing Director of Kenya National Petroleum Corporation Leparan Gideon ole Morinthat.

The Energy Panel was attended by a delegation from Venezuela, led by the Head of the Central Bank, as well as representative delegations from China, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Brazil.

Also present were Laureano and Daniel, the sons of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. The Energy Panel was moderated by Alexander Dynkin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and President of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.