The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) opened on 4 May in Houston with a dual message about the world’s need for additional energy supply and the pressure to deliver it in more sustainable ways. Kicking off the 4-day industry gathering was Mohamed Irfaan Ali, president of Guyana, a country that in recent years has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing oil producers.
Ali told conference attendees in a wide‑ranging plenary address that they were gathering at a moment of “profound change, but also of profound tension,” referencing both the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that has resulted in a global supply shock and the world’s continued push for an energy transition.
A big question Ali raised was whether the world is on a path to create not just enough energy, but energy that is affordable. He said the answer will be felt across the global economy, impacting all its factories, hospitals, agricultural industries, and homes.
The president noted that global energy supply has been increasing at a steady clip for 60 years, but said the past 15 years of rising demand have increasingly tested the supply side.
“The result has been a widening gap between the energy the world requires and the energy it produces. The wider gap is not a short-term fluctuation, it is a structural development,” he said. Ali added that the growth of artificial intelligence, and the new energy demand it has created, is exacerbating the imbalance, placing additional strain on global energy systems.
In response, the world is spending substantially more on energy. Ali cited figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showing that total global energy investment reached nearly $3.3 trillion last year, the highest level ever recorded.
He said the IEA figures underscore both “the urgency and scale of global energy demand” and a sustained commitment to the energy transition. About two-thirds of total investment flowed into renewable or other low‑carbon energy projects, while the remaining third was directed toward oil and gas development.
But even as the global renewable install base has expanded rapidly—with solar capacity increasing roughly 15-fold over the past decade and wind capacity growing fourfold over the same period—Ali said oil and gas remain essential to sustaining economic growth. He noted that fossil fuels, including coal, still account for about 80% of the global energy mix.
“The world is not replacing one energy system with another in a linear fashion,” he said. “It is building a new system while continuing to rely on the existing system to meet the majority of its energy needs.” That context, Ali said, means that the existing energy system built largely atop fossil fuel developments remains “indispensable.”
The president also highlighted the physical constraints of the renewable side of the equation, citing the scale of critical‑minerals demand implied by current growth trajectories. If those projections hold, he said, roughly 80% of known copper and nickel reserves could be depleted by 2050, along with about 70% of global cobalt reserves. Lithium, another staple ingredient for electric vehicles and battery storage, would also see its known reserves cut roughly in half over that period.
Ali also drew attention to water intensity on the renewable side of the equation, particularly for lithium extraction. He noted that producing a single metric ton of lithium typically requires about 2 million liters of water, and that total water consumption tied to lithium production approached 656 billion liters in 2024. The latter figure is comparable to the annual water demand of about 62 million people in sub‑Saharan Africa.
The answer, Ali said, lies in “energy balance,” which he described as a sustainability-driven approach meant to align economic, political, and social priorities. He described Guyana and its domestic energy strategy as a case study in how that balance can be achieved.
Guyana is producing more than 900,000 B/D from a series of ExxonMobil‑led offshore projects, with output expected to surpass 1 million B/D next year. At the same time, the country is investing in renewable energy and maintaining tropical forests that span roughly 85% of its landmass and absorb more than 150 million tons of CO2 each year.
“We have rejected the false choice between economic development and environmental scholarship. We've also rejected the notion that the energy transition can be pursued through a single pathway,” Ali said. “Instead, we have adopted a deliberate and integrated dual-track approach. We are extracting full value from our hydrocarbon resources while simultaneously building the renewable and low-carbon system that will define our future.”
Other voices delivering a similar message at the opening of OTC included Dan McConnell, OTC board chair and vice president of exploration at Deep Sea Minerals Corporation.
McConnell described offshore oil and gas as a “critical foundation” for sustaining the global economy. He said OTC brings industry participants together to help “accelerate the development of alternative solutions by integrating technology and sustainable practices,” adding that the conference aims to “steer the future of offshore energy and lead the change toward a balanced, sustainable energy mix that will power generations to come.”
Clay Neff, president of global upstream for Chevron, said OTC has played a role in shaping the future of global energy for more than 5 decades. “The engineering community represented here, and particularly the members of SPE, play a vital role in that mission,” he said. “Engineers turn ideas into reality. They develop the technologies that allow us to responsibly produce the energy the world needs, while advancing safety, efficiency, and sustainability.”
The Offshore Technology Conference runs through 7 May, with additional keynote sessions, technical programs, and panel discussions scheduled throughout the week.
