Saudi Aramco CEO: Oil and gas is important during times of conflict

Saudi Aramco's head told a Monday energy conference that oil and gas are important in times of conflict, as we can see right now.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser gave his speech at the Energy Asia Conference held in Kuala Lumpur via video link.

The oil prices rose last week, after Israel, claiming to have launched attacks against Iran on Friday in order to stop Tehran from building atomic weapons, said that they were meant to prevent Tehran. Over the weekend, fighting intensified.

Nasser stated that "history has shown us the importance of oil in conflict situations."

He said that the world was concerned about energy security, despite the fact that Israel and Iran were fighting.

Nasser said that the experience has shown that the new energy sources are not a replacement for the old but rather a complement. He claimed that the cost of achieving net-zero emission could be as high as $200 trillion and renewable energy sources are not able to meet current demand.

He said that "energy security and affordability are now the central goals of the transition."

Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company, is the backbone of the Saudi economy. It generates a large portion of Saudi Arabia's revenues through its oil exports. Aramco also funds the ambitious Vision 2030 diversification program. (Reporting and editing by John Mair, Florence Tan, Sudarshan Varadahan)

(source: Reuters)