Cairo: UAE Minister of Energy Mohammad Bin Dha'en Al Hameli said many Arab countries, including the UAE, are investing heavily in the petrochemical industry, relying on their huge oil and gas reserves.
Arab countries, including the oil exporting countries, are working on expanding economic and trade cooperation, Al Hameli told reporters in Cairo.
Arab oil ministers are in Cairo for the 85th ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec).
The UAE minister said the outcome of the meeting is set to further bolster intra-Arab oil cooperation.
Meanwhile, Dow Jones reported that the Syrian government will award contracts to explore, develop and produce hydrocarbon from eight onshore blocks within two months, the country's oil minister said on Saturday.
"We have already closed the bid round earlier this month and the results will be announced within two months," Sufian Alaw told Dow Jones Newswires. Syria had earlier extended the deadline for the bid round to December 8 from September 15, to give the firms more time to prepare their bids.
The ministry offered production-sharing contracts to explore blocks 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 16 and 18, located mostly on the eastern and northern parts of the country with a total area of 74,000 square kilometres.
The country will also tender four offshore oil exploration blocks in January, Alaw added.
Syria aims to boost its crude oil production, which has declined from 590,000 barrels a day in 2006 to 380,000 barrels a day currently. Its natural gas production stands at 25 million cubic metres a day.
Global oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total and China National Petroleum Corp, UK-incorporated energy company Gulfsands Petroleum, Russia's Tatneft and India's ONGC Videsh are already working on oil and gas projects in the country.
