The boss of one of Australia’s largest domestic gas suppliers has warned the country could face significant problems if it phases out oil and gas in favour of renewables amid rising pressures from the industry’s opponents.
In his speech to the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s (APPEA) 2023 conference, Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said oil and gas were vital for the operation of modern society.
“The main game is gas because it makes renewables possible, it provides feedstock for fertilisers and chemicals, and it fires the high-temperature furnaces required for bricks and cement,” he said.
The CEO noted that while some people had lectured about how millions of lives could be at risk due to climate change during the conference, there was no thought about the human cost of a world without oil and gas….