SUSTAINABLE ENERGY NOT TASK FOR ENERGY INDUSTRY ALONE, SAYS PETRONAS CHIEF

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Bernama) -- The sustainable energy challenge needs
concerted and coordinated efforts across a broad range of sectors and not only
the energy industry, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and chief
executive officer Shamsul Azhar Abbas said Tuesday.

Among others, increases in computing power have made it possible to run
complex algorithms that vastly improved the ability to manage lengthier supply
chains, creating savings not only in processing time but also fuel consumption,
he said.

"As video conferencing technology advances and matures into an indispensable
business tool, we will be able to generate substantial energy savings through
reduced travelling," he said at the World Engineering, Science and Technology
Congress 2010 here.

His speech was presented by Petronas executive vice president, downstream
business, Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

Shamsul Azhar said there was a need to make sustainable buildings more
affordable if the world wanted to meet the sustainable energy challenge while
simultaneously accommodating rising populations and growing urbanisation.

According to some estimates, nearly one-third of the potential energy
savings that can be realised in the next few decades will come from more
efficient buildings, particularly through improvements in space heating and
cooling technology, as well as from more efficient household appliances, he
said.

He added that improvements in process engineering and plant equipment
efficiencies could also help reduce the energy consumption in manufacturing.
-- BERNAMA