FUEL FUTUREPROOFING

Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group, has a center-stage view of a global energy crisis. With an eye on the bigger picture, his more than 50-year-old U.A.E.-based family business is investing heavily in oil and gas to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

- JAMILA GANDHI

As the price of oil continues to fluctuate in the face of global market challenges, policymakers worldwide are taking the brunt of a dual crisis born of energy security and a creeping climate catastrophe.

Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group, has been with his family business for 18 years and has seen this price cycle before. He believes that at least five major oil price cycles over the past five decades have led to volatile spikes of between $20 and $100 per barrel over the last two years. In his mind, for a more stable future, energy security and energy transition should be considered in parallel. “These are challenging times for the whole world. Energy is the lifeblood of the global economy, and it must be available and affordable as well as environmentally sustainable,” says Jafar. “We need to see more rational, long-term thinking and planning, with energy and large-scale strategic and science-based investments.”

He’s not alone in his analysis. With global energy demand expected to grow 30-50% by 2050, according to UBS data, experts say that more needs to be done to decarbonize the world economy successfully. “The energy crisis presents a threat to global economic growth,” says Michael Bolliger, Chief Investment Officer at Global Emerging Markets, UBS Global Wealth Management. “But although near-term visibility is low, we’re convinced that the crisis will accelerate the energy transition, providing opportunities and risks for the Middle East.”