World to rely on fossil fuels until 2050 - Shell

The world will remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels for the next 40 years, Shell's chief executive said, as a massive US oil spill cast a cloud over the industry.

Despite the upsurge in alternative sources, fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal, will remain the dominant source for meeting increasing world energy demand until at least 2050, said chief executive officer Peter Voser.

"Energy demand will double between now and 2050. We have currently roughly 80 per cent of fossil resources delivering the energy demand today. We still see this at around 60 per cent by 2050," said the chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch energy giant.

Alternative and renewable energy sources will only garner 30 to 40 per cent of market share within the same time frame, Mr Voser said in Singapore, a major hub for the oil trade, where he was attending the opening of a petrochemical complex.

His comments come as rival BP is under intense pressure over an oil spill from a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, which has given US authorities pause for thought over future drilling plans.

"There will be continuous need for fossil resources over the next decades... in order to actually allow renewables and other energy sources the time to technically develop, commercialise and build market share," remarked Mr Voser.

Giving alternative energy sources time to become efficient and economically viable will, in the long term, help mitigate any adverse environmental impact caused by the use of fossil fuels, he said.

He added that Shell was continuing drilling in the Gulf of Mexico as it had not been asked to stop by US authorities following the accident in the area. Mr Voser was in Singapore to attend the opening of the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, Shell's biggest petrochemicals investment worldwide to date.

He said the "main growth engines" for the company's future were in the Asia-Pacific region, due to accelerating demand, particularly from China and India.