Mon, Jul 06, 2009
 Shell Oil's Cabazon Pass Wind Park, in the San Gorgonio Pass area 18 miles west of Palm Springs, Calif., is Shell WindEnergy's first commercial-scale wind project in California. Shell is "very active" in California with wind farms, Shell President John Hofmeister said in a UA talk. Courtesy shell oil co.
More Photos (1):
 
RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Sales and Marketing Everready Glass Sales Reps Finance and Accounting Charles E. Gillman Company Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional Tucson Urban League CEO/President Mechanical Komatsu Equipment Co Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional Jorgensen Brooks Group Counselor BusinessShell Oil energy tour at UAARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.31.2007
The United States must find better ways for meeting future energy needs and improving sustainable energy sources, a senior oil company executive told a Tucson audience yesterday.
"We have an energy crisis, an energy dilemma and an energy insecurity," said John Hofmei-ster, the president of Shell Oil Co., at a meeting Thursday with University of Arizona faculty and students.
His stop here was part of a planned 50-city tour that Shell undertook amid concerns over the country's energy supply following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the ensuing refinery shutdowns — which choked off 25 percent of Shell's supply to consumers.
So why the round of talks, particularly at what Hofmeister called a risk for the company and industry, which has been under pressure in recent years amid high gas prices and energy costs?
"Shell's priority is to meet with as many people as possible who have a stake in our company and our industry to help them understand what Shell is doing now and in the future to ensure an ample supply of energy," the company said in a written statement.
As if to underscore the controversy surrounding Shell, someone in the audience shouted "Why are you killing people?" during Hofmeister's presentation, in reference to the company's presence in Nigeria.
The campaign, distinctive in its face-to-face format as opposed to mass-advertised blitzes, has stopped in 42 cities so far. Stops have included 14 universities, such as Cornell, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the UA.
UA was chosen because of the "reputation for its technological innovation," Hofmeister said in an interview . "It behooves us as a technical company to talk to proponents" of certain technologies.
Among alternative energies Hofmeister discussed in his talk to more than 50 people were wind and solar energy. Shell is currently "very active" with windmill farms in California, he said.
But the biggest challenges ahead, Hofmeister said, are less about science and more about public policy. Addressing that problem, he said, means pursuing a more sane national energy strategy that takes into account medium- and long-term solutions.
Hofmeister met with faculty and students at he UA's College of Engineering before Thursday afternoon's talk. His multi-city tour has spanned 18 months.
● Contact reporter Jack Gillum at 573-4178 or at jgillum@azstarnet.com.
|
|
5 Comments on this story
