BP chief executive Tony Hayward has urged industry heads to invest through the economic downturn, assured in the knowledge that "the future is not cancelled".

Speaking in Houston, he iterated that if the doubling of energy demand that is expected in the next 50 years is to be met, the oil and gas industry will need to invest $26 trillion over the period.

According to Forbes, he reminded attendees at a conference yesterday (February 10th) that the oil and gas industry had worked "just fine" in previous years when oil traded at $40 a barrel, adding that the difference then was that the costs of raw materials and labour increased dramatically as oil soared to $147 last year.

Mr Hayward explained that these costs have not yet come down as service companies are still paying to train new workers and researching new technologies that were necessitated by heightened demand.

Earlier this month, BP's chief executive also made a pledge to continue to pursue a cost-reduction strategy throughout 2009 in order to maintain profitability during this period of subdued demand and weak oil prices.

5th Global Education and Training event for Oil and Gas: Exploration and Production