Implications of ‘net-zero emissions by 2050’ for the hydrocarbon industry: a case study of hydrogen in mature petroleum jurisdictions

Abstract Climate change, and the need to wean the world off hydrocarbon sources of energy, will have a significant impact on the hydrocarbon industry, an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and which has been in existence for over a century. Even though the phasing out of hydrocarbons as an energy source is inevitable, the demise of the hydrocarbon industry is not. This study, demonstrates that the hydrocarbon industry can make a significant contribution as the world transitions to low carbon energy. in this paper, we discuss the role of the hydrocarbon industry in developing a new hydrogen industry, demonstrating how the industry’s know how will be vital in the development, construction, and delivery of both blue and green hydrogen to an energy hungry world.