The chairman of CLH advocates the need to guarantee clean, economical and safe access to energy

• José Luis López de Silanes has participated in the informative breakfast meeting organised by the Executive Forum with a presentation entitled “The oil sector in the energy transition scenario”

The chairman of the CLH Group, José Luis López de Silanes, has participated in the informative breakfast meeting organised by the Executive Forum in Madrid, where he explained the changes that are taking place in the world energy scenario.

During his presentation, the chairman of the CLH Group explained that the future of the energy sector will be characterised “by the increase in energy demand in emerging economies, as well as the drive of renewable energies and the boom of non-conventional oil and gas.”

He also highlighted that, despite this energy transition process, fossil fuels will continue to play an essential role in the world’s economy, “going from the current share of 81% to 79% in 2040.”

By sectors, transportation will continue to concentrate the highest volume of oil demand owing to the “great versatility of traditional fuels, which concentrate a large quantity of energy per volume unit and have large distribution networks.”

In this scenario, oil product transportation and storage systems will continue to be highly relevant to guarantee good financial health in most countries. As for Spain, he confirmed that the CLH Group will continue to guarantee easy and safe access through its pipeline and facility network.

He also reminded those present that, thanks to the efficiency improvements achieved in recent years, the price for the company’s logistics services represents “less than one euro cent per litre” for consumers.

With regard to the business in Spain, López de Silanes confirmed that the challenge for CLH is “not to lose market share”, as the company has infrastructures that are more than enough to meet the country’s storage needs, and therefore there is no need to make investments aimed at growth in Spain.

As for the world’s refining capacity, the chairman of CLH explained that there will be a shift away from mature markets such as Europe towards emerging markets, such as Asia and the Middle East. “These changes will entail a notable variation in traditional crude oil flows, having important consequences for competitiveness and security of supply in the European Union,” he explained.

Given these changes and owing to its high energy dependence, the chairman of CLH advocated the need for the European Union to develop a common energy policy that guarantees access to energy that is as “clean, economical and safe as possible.”

In addition, he highlighted that, in contrast with what has happened in Europe, where refining capacity has decreased, in Spain important investments have been made to expand and modernise the production capacity at refineries, which has resulted in “Spain having the most modern refining activity in Europe."