growing Asian region. Furthermore, the growth in oil trade means increased traffic through the world's strategic shipping channels, including the Straits of Hormuz, the Bosphorus Straits and the Straits of Malacca. Managing the safe movement of oil through these key channels and ensuring the security and stability of sea lanes will be critical in ensuring security of supply. For all these reasons, cooperation between the concerned nations, and investment in and attention to infrastructure will be vital in meeting future demand for oil in a reliable and responsible manner. Lastly, I am convinced that global capital formation, including the financial resources of producing nations, is sufficient to fund the wide range of investments required to expand oil supplies. This is true so long as oil prices are sufficiently healthy to attract capital and there are no legislation restricting cross-border investments in producing nations. At the same time, government bodies and regulatory agencies bear a heavy responsibility in ensuring that permitting for petroleum projects and programs is forthcoming in a timely fashion, so that these investments are both logistically and commercially viable. In conclusion, I firmly believe that petroleum will remain the bedrock of the world's energy supplies for the foreseeable future, just as it has for the past century. However, if we are to "secure the energy future," there are issues that must be addressed cooperatively by a range of concerned parties. These include pragmatic energy policies and a level playing field for the competing sources of energy; increased investment and capacity expansion all along the petroleum value chain; and the understanding that cleaner and more efficient uses of petroleum are vital to protecting the natural environment. When all is said and done, rising to the challenge is more than just a matter of getting oil out of the ground, maintaining market stability, or even meeting growing demand for energy. It goes beyond these factors, because energy is so fundamental to our societies, and so essential to the well-being of people who live in them. For me, securing the energy future reliably and responsibly means not only delivering on our commitments as an industry, but also meeting our obligations as individuals to the generations that will follow us, and to the Earth that they will inherit."
