Managing Director, ExxonMobil Mr Mark Ward yesterday said the company spent over one billion dollars annually on research and development on current oil technology.

Ward said this at the ongoing three-day annual international conference and exhibitions of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in Abuja.

He said that ExxonMobil took a long-term approach to investment in technology, adding, “We believe that technology is critical to the continued success of the industry.

“It is a key foundation of ExxonMobil because it is critical for us to deliver technology innovations and improvements,’’ Ward said.

The Managing Director said that this would lead to increased supply of oil and gas needed to support economic growth in the years to come.

“Much of the earth’s remaining recoverable oil resources are found in complex geological formations, remote locations and under harsh conditions.

“We need leading-edge technologies to overcome these challenges and bring these abundant resources to the market,’’ he said.

Ward said that most forecasts showed that global energy demand would be 35 per cent higher in 2030 than it was in 2005, driven by the growth in population and economic activities.

He also said the forecasts indicated that oil and gas would continue to constitute 50 per cent of the global energy mix.

The Managing Director said that no other energy source could match their availability, affordability and scale.

Ward said that the solution to the challenge of satisfying future global demand lay in effective deployment of innovative technologies that guaranteed the full development of all resource types.

“ExxonMobil adopts an integrated solution approach which seeks to ensure that we meet these challenges at a cost that supports economic development and mitigates emissions and other environmental concerns.

“Technology not only expands the geological range of where we produce, but it also extends the types of supplies that contribute to meeting global demand.

“As we move toward 2030, we anticipate an increasing contribution from “frontier” hydrocarbon resources such as ultra-deep water and heavy oil,’’ Ward said.

Our correspondent reports that about 30 exhibitors, both indigenous and foreign were attending the 2011 SPE conference entitled: “Global Energy Dynamics: Challenges and Opportunities in the African Region’’.