The CEO of BP Group Tony Hayward visited Tsinghua SEM and delivered a speech entitled“Delivering Energy for Sustainable Growth” on November 25, 2008. Professor Qian Yingyi held talks with Mr. Hayward before the lecture.

Mr. Hayward’s speech began with talking about oil price. “A few months ago, people were predicting the price could hit $200 abarrel in the near future. Now, the price is under $60 abarrel”, said the Group chief, “But a word of caution: it’s always better to look past the short-term fluctuations and keep an eye on the fundamentals. In the long run, the big question is the tight balance between supply and demand. ”

The head of the oil industry giant mentioned that,sincealmost two thirds of the world’s oil is currently traded across international boundaries, lower trade barriers and tariffs are welcome and necessary for the oil industry.

“The era of cheap energy is over – at least for the medium term”, Mr. Hayward concluded, “We face a huge challenge. How do we supply secure and affordable energy to fuel economic growth whilst addressing the issue of climate change?”

As the Chair of GLOBE CEO Forum for Climate Change, Tony Hayward Highlighted the issue of climate change. In his view, “the role thatChinanow plays in the world, as the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, will be crucial.”

Tony Hayward, a member of Tsinghua SEM’s Advisory Board, introduced BP’s work at dealing with the challenges of global warming to the students as well. “At BP, we talk about going Beyond Petroleum. This means three things to us. One: producing more fossil fuels more efficiently, today. Two: making better use of fossil fuels and three: beginning the transition to a low carbon future“, he said.

He also mentioned that, BP is working closely withTsinghuaUniversityand Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under theChineseAcademyof Sciences (CAS) on a Clean Energy: Facing the Future program, which is aimed at developing and proving new clean energy options forChinaand the rest of the world.

After the lecture, Mr. Hayward answered questions form theaudience.

Tony Hayward studied geology atBirmingham University,England, and took his PhD atEdinburgh University,Scotland. Tony joined BP in 1982 and began his career as a rig geologist in theNorth Sea. Mr. Hayward was appointed to the main board of BP in 2003. In May 2007, Mr. Hayward was appointed group chief executive of BP p.l.c. He is a non-executive director and the senior independent director of Corus Group and a non-executive director of Tata Steel. He was appointed companion of the Chartered Management Institute in September 2005. He is a Member of the Business Council of Britain, a Member of Tsinghua Advisory Board and Chair of GLOBE CEO Forum for Climate Change.