| | AUGUST 20248By Bruno Freitas, Product Line Director - Terminals & Services, SBM Offshore (SBMO: AMS)ENERGY TRANSITION THROUGH THE DECADES: A RESPONSIBLE APPROACHAfter the oil crisis, of the `70s, Oil & Gas continued to be the main source of energy due to a number of reasons and one of them was that oil and natural gas were relatively cheap and widely available, especially in the Middle East, where a large portion of the world's reserves was located. Adding to that, the infrastructure for producing, distributing, and consuming oil and natural gas was already well established, making it easy to continue relying on these energy sources.Another reason was that the technology for extracting and producing oil and natural gas improved over time, making it more cost-effective to extract these fossil fuels. This led to an increase in production and a further decline in prices. Finally, the development of new technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking), made it possible to extract oil and natural gas from previously inaccessible reserves, further increasing the global supply of these energy sources and even changing the global scale of distribution of oil & gas producers.As a result of these factors, oil and natural gas remained the primary sources of energy for much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It wasn't until the late 2010s that renewable energy sources like solar and wind power began to become more competitive with fossil fuels, and there was a greater emphasis on reducing Bruno FreitasIn the mid-20th century, nuclear en-ergy was seen as a promising new technology that could provide a lim-itless and clean source of power. The first nuclear power plant was built in Obninsk, Russia in 1954, followed by the UK in 1956 and the USA in 1957 and by the 1960s, nuclear energy had be-come an important part of the energy mix in many countries.However, the 1970s saw the rise of the environmental movement, which brought attention to the potential environmental and health impacts of nuclear energy, such as the risk of accidents and the disposal of nuclear waste. This, combined with the high cost of building and maintaining nuclear power plants, led to a slowdown in the construction of new plants.At the same time, the world was experiencing a boom in oil and natural gas production, particularly in the Middle East. These fossil fuels became more readily available and relatively cheap, leading to a shift in global energy consumption away from nuclear energy and towards oil and natural gas.The ´70s oil crisis had a significant impact on the global energy market, leading to a shift away from oil and towards other energy sources such as coal and natural gas as alternatives to oil, and there was also a renewed interest in nuclear energy and renewable sources like solar and wind power. The crisis also led to a greater emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency.IN MY OPINION
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