Newly restructured Royal Dutch Shell expects 50% global energy growth in the next 35 years, according to Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of the super-major. Most of this growth will come from new markets, such as burgeoning Asian countries, and most of the supply will come from fossil fuels, he expects. "The world is not running out of energy. The world is not running out of fossil fuels," he told attendees at the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference in Houston last month. When considering unconventional hydrocarbon resources-oil sands, heavy oil, oil shales and clean coal-"we are a long way away from" running out of fossil fuels, he said. "...So, I believe in fossil fuels." The industry has to meet three tests to make the most of hydrocarbon resources-convenient, cheap and clean. The first two are mostly met; the third is troublesome. "We have to reduce CO2 (emissions)." This opinion is held by most politicians of all parties in most countries, he added, so oil companies have work ahead of them. "We'll have to look for green fossil fuels." He added that Royal Dutch Shell is not neglecting the potential of renewable energy, but these resources have not proven competitive to date. Some other comments: windfall-profit taxes are counterproductive; he prefers to call large projects "elephant" rather than "mammoth," since mammoths are extinct; and the company is tackling staffing challenges through various means that have resulted in some 1,500 net new hires. "I am absolutely not pessimistic...If I were a young person, I would study petroleum engineering."