Saudi Aramco CEO urges spend on both oil and alternatives

While praising investments in alternative energy initiatives, the chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco warned against policies favoring those over petroleum interests, which will remain a mainstay of total global supply for the foreseeable future. Khalid al-Falih, speaking at the CERAWeek 2010 conference in Houston, said that a transformation to an alternative energy landscape will not happen “overnight” so there should be “concurrent investments in conventional and alternative” energy. In addition, policymakers should allow “real competition to flourish” among resources and “avoid excessive taxation and cross-subsidies,” he said. (March 9, 2010)