Former president of Shell Oil Company and founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy John Hofmeister warned about the nation’s energy future at the University on Tuesday.
Hofmeister was the keynote speaker at the University Center for Energy Studies Energy Summit, which focused on “Deepwater Exploration and the Future of the Gulf of Mexico.”
Hofmeister said if the energy industry stays the way it is now, the nation will face an “energy abyss” that will leave America in a Third World state by the end of the century.
“[In the future] when you get on an elevator, you better have made sure you went to the bathroom first, because you’re going to be stuck there for a while when the electricity goes out,” he said.
Hofmeister said future issues could arise because of what he deemed antagonistic government action and the industry’s lack of consumer interaction and a reliance on an old system.
According to Hofmeister, the industry is in need of a $15 trillion infrastructure facelift to fix or replace old power plants, gas pumps and natural gas pipelines, among other things.
“Things that get old not only wear out, they get dangerous,” Hofmeister said.
The oil industry needs to speak more directly to the consumer because the people control public policy, Hofmeister said.
“Whenever something goes wrong, consumers blame the industry first,” Hofmeister said.
Hofmeister also criticized Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration for anti-industry legislation and the drilling moratorium.
“Are [industry executives] likely to invest in the United States or another country where they’re wanted?” Hofmeister said.
Despite the looming problems he sees, Hofmeister said serious changes aren’t likely to come before a crisis occurs.
Jim Lucier, managing director of Capital Alpha Partners who specializes in forecasting legislative action, said Congress is unlikely to change energy policies until at least 2011 or 2012.
“Despite the large amount of oil in the Deepwater Horizon spill, nothing [legislative] happened, and I’m going to go ahead and predict nothing will,” Lucier said at the summit.
Lucier said the media forced the Obama administration to take action on the spill.
“Once the intensity of the cable TV coverage got higher I think they panicked,” Lucier said.
Hofmeister said he created Citizens for Affordable Energy as a forum for discussion and information for all Americans to learn about their energy after he didn’t have success speaking to members of Congress.
“Plan A was to speak to members of Congress. Plan B is to take the message to the American public,” Hofmeister said.
Hofmeister said the group is focused on “four mores” — more energy sources, more efficiency, more infrastructure and more environmental protection regulations.
“We can do dirty energy, but we can do it more cleanly,” Hofmeister said.
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Contact Frederick Holl at [email protected]