Fossil fuels are still a key part of energy supply

Article Excerpt

Global energy demand continues to increase as the world population grows and electricity demand for cooling, vehicles and data centers increases. Meanwhile, sources of energy supply are changing: while oil and coal based energy will continue to form the backbone of energy supply for the next decade or more, low-carbon energy sources such as wind, sunlight, hydro, natural gas and nuclear will satisfy a portion of future supply. In an elevated oil price environment that prevailed for most of the past 5 years, traditional energy producers and energy infrastructure companies have done well. While the future direction of oil prices remains important, but impossible to predict, we continue to recommend that most investors maintain some exposure to the oil and gas industry as part of a balanced portfolio. The challenges for the energy sector are well-publicized and are no different from other commodity producers. High commodity prices bring on expansion and overproduction, which typically results in lower prices. However, producers overall were more…