MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) believes that oil will continue to be a critical company in the energy sector development and it does not function in isolation from other segments of the economy, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said in the article titled "The energy mix is not a zero-sum game: oil and the electricity grid" posted on the OPEC website.
Electrification is frequently portrayed as oil’s main rival, Al Ghais noted. However, OPEC does not believe that energy resources are locked "in a zero-sum game," he said. "Reality tells us that oil does not operate in isolation, cut off from other sectors and industries," the OPEC Secretary General highlighted. "Rather, such is the versatility of petroleum and petroleum-derived products that they play an indispensable role in a host of other sectors and industries," he added.
The OPEC Secretary-General focuses on the link between oil and the electric power sector. Plenty of oil products are used to support electric power transmission. Insulation materials used to provide for safety of subsea and underground cables are made of oil refining products, such as cross-linked polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene and polymer polymers. Transformer oil (oil distillate) is used in transformers playing an important role in power transmission, he adds.
"OPEC Member Countries have clear national electrification plans, which is part of a shared belief that all sources of energy will be necessary to meet future demand growth, reduce emissions, tackle energy poverty and ensure energy security. We believe oil will continue to be a vital component of future energy pathways and this is exemplified by the fact petroleum products are essential for the functioning of other sectors, such as electricity," Al Ghais concluded.