Technology plays increasingly important role in energy industry: IEA

HOUSTON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- technology plays an increasingly important role in both supply and demand sides of the Energy industry, according to an Energy outlook released by International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol made the remarks to reporters at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit that kicked off on Monday in Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.

The outlook focused on the organization's expectations of Energy markets for the next five years and include implications for the global economy and geopolitics.

According to Birol, the industry has established digital learning on the supply side. "Due to the usage of digitalization edge and competitive and innovative service sector, the U.S. shale development costs today are one-third below the 2015 levels," he said.

On the demand side, Birol said that electric vehicles, not only cars but buses and others, are playing a very significant role, giving an important signal to the traditional oil companies.

CERAWeek is an annual Energy meeting held by the London-based information company IHS Markit featuring prominent speakers from Energy, technology and financial sectors. This year's meeting was attended by more than 4,500 guests from more than 70 countries and regions.