Oil’s share of the global energy supply will continue to fall, with the slack picked up mostly by natural gas, Total SA exploration chief Yves-Louis Darricarrere said Tuesday.

The Paris-based oil and gas executive spoke on the second day of IHS CERAWeek 2012 in Houston.

Total’s view is not unlike that of other Big Oil executives; BP plc and ExxonMobil Corp. have stated similar views in their annual energy forecasts. Darricarrere, whose company also is investing millions in renewables — with a big bet on solar — said fossil fuels would continue to shape the world’s energy landscape for decades. Plenty of natural gas and oil is in the onshore and offshore but there are expensive obstacles that have to be bridged, he told delegates at the annual conference.

“I don’t think in-the-ground resources are an issue,” he said. Enough oil resources exist to last at least 75 years and enough natural gas is available for at least 130 years, by several calculations. “We see structural support for oil and gas prices, excluding North America, in the medium and long term,” Darricarrere said.

In North America, he noted, the cup runneth over with natural gas — and oil resources are looking stronger in the near term because of rapid gains in technology.

However, “for various industrial and geopolitical reasons, it will be difficult to produce more than 95-97 million barrels a day of oil and natural gas in the foreseeable future,” the Paris-based executive said. Last year global production was around 87.4 million boe/d.

The obstacles for projects in the deepwater and in other conventional drilling areas are becoming more expensive, he said. In addition, several countries maintain barriers to investment. Extracting oil won’t necessarily quench the thirst for energy in some developing areas of the world. And world events, such as Japan’s nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, also will keep oil and gas at a premium.

“In a post-Fukushima environment, the position of fossil fuels is even more difficult to challenge,” Darricarrere said. Huge investments have to be made, with technical expertise and sustainability key to meeting global demands in the coming decades. New resources likely will be found in ever deeper waters and in colder climes, he said. “The subsequent developments will be complex and costly,” but “fossil fuels will continue to be an essential ingredient in the energy mix.”

More transparency and environmental sustainability also are issues that require attention by the energy industry, said the Total chief. He cited a swift swing in public opinion in France against allowing producers to develop shale resources because of myths about hydraulic fracturing.

“Our business will not be sustainable if we are not responsible operators accepted by all stakeholders including civic society,” Darricarrere said. “We must reduce the environmental footprint of our operations as much as possible.”

“The story is, if you don’t put anything in, you won’t get anything out,” said Juan Jose Suarez Coppel, director general of Mexico’s state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). Suarez Coppel also noted the challenges Mexico faces as it attempts to reset the production switch and ramp up oil and gas rates.

“There’s still a clear perception of the need to change things in the oil industry,” he said. Decision makers’ opinions have become “much more acceptable in the short term.” Because Pemex is run by the government, bureaucracy causes some problems, he said. “It’s much easier to fix a company than fix government institutions.”

Some conference delegates had to weave their way to the proceedings through about 50 members of a costumed local protest group, Good Jobs Great Houston, who were wearing pig outfits to represent the top 1% of income earners. There also was a pig. A spokeswoman said the group wanted the “world’s wealthiest oil tycoons and energy companies to pay their fair share of taxes.”

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