For Saudi Arabia,Producing 18.2 Million B/D by 2030 Is Not a Technical Challenge

摘要

(Following is the text of a telephone interview with Mr.William C.Ramsay,Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.The interview took place on 4 November and dealt with the lEA's World Energy Outlook 2005,which was published on 7 November.AOGM devotes a special section to that report in this issue-see pages 8-19).AOGM:At a press conference held in Paris today to present the World Energy Outlook 2005(WEO 2005),you stated that the debate surrounding peak oil was more a"distraction"than anything.Could you explain your thinking on this issue?William C.Ramsay:This debate can distract policymakers from core issues.It may lead them to take decisions that would not be reasonable in economic terms today.Should we take tough measures today if peak oil is not a threat in the near future? We think that the advances of science and technology will enable the date of peak oil to be pushed back and so we don't need to talk about it now.There are other issues that are more urgent.