The world’s largest oil companies announced a series of “green” investments in 2016 — in wind farms, electric battery storage systems, and carbon capture and storage. These moves followed an announcement by Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, that it plans to sell off parts of its national oil company and diversify its economy away from petroleum.
Moves to diversify portfolios, transitioning gradually into low-carbon technologies while reducing dependency on fossil fuels, have predated the oil price decline but accelerated since the downturn. It is financially prudent for oil companies to invest in renewables at a time when the value of green firms is also depressed by the low oil price.
In the short term, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts that US renewable energy production will increase by 8% between 2016 and 2018 (see graph below). This trend is not exclusive to the US, given that last year Portugal ran solely on renewables for four consecutive days while Costa Rica produced 98.1% of its energy in 2016 from renewable sources including hydropower, geothermal plants, wind turbines, solar panels and biomass plants. The International Energy Agency predicts a significant shift in total primary energy demand in the next quarter century, with low-carbon demand almost doubling, gas increasing and oil demand halving.
Click on chart to enlarge
Despite some uncertainty, due to US tax policy or commitments to fighting climate change, the positive momentum achieved by the renewable energy sector is unlikely to subside. Large corporations are forecast to continue flexing their buying power by signing more contracts with small- to medium-size companies. The declining cost of energy storage should enable further penetration of renewable resources while the marketplace will innovate to meet consumer demand for clean, affordable, renewable energy.
As the renewables market evolves to keep pace with growing demand, the need for experienced engineers within this niche is increasing significantly. Agile staffing firms are moving into new green energy subsectors to generate new revenue streams and ensure they continue to be attuned to the needs of the clients. Project delivery requires a sustainable and reliable source of candidates to fill key jobs, maintain momentum and control over your requirements from bid phases to commissioning.
Corporate members interested in learning about these trends and others in the engineering staffing market can access our full Global Engineering Report and Global Oil & Gas Market Update.
