The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will wait for the market to stabilise and will not quote a price, UAE energy minister Suhail Mohammad Faraj Al Mazroui said in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“We all agreed that we will wait for the market to stabilise. Opec is not going to quote a price or say we will change the price. All the Opec ministers agree on it,” he said.
“Expensive producers should answer about the price, not us. We will not give you a price or we are concerned about it,” he said when reporters asked him about the drop in oil prices.
Mazrouei emphasised on the importance of cooperation among Arab countries for investments and development in various sectors including infrastructure and energy.
“Cooperation in investments will lead us to development and going forward. We have to leave space for investors for investment keeping in mind the future vision.”
According to analystsm spending is likely to get reduced in the oil and gas sector due to less prices and turmoil in the region. However, UAE said it will continue to spend despite the current situation.
Oil prices have been plunging for the past few months due to increased shale oil production from the US and weak demand in the market. From $115 per barrel in June, the price of Brent crude has come down to around $60 in December.
In a meeting in Vienna last month, Opec members refused to cut production to stabilise the prices. The cartel decided to keep the production at 30 million barrels per day.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali Al Naimi sad that the country will not cut output and blamed the current slide in oil prices on “non-Opec members and misleading information and speculation”.
Kuwait’s oil minister Ali Saleh Al Omair also made similar statements and said it’s not fair for Opec to take the decision to reduce output while others continue to produce oil. “There should be cooperation between all the parties including Opec and others,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abdelkader Amara, energy minister of Morocco said tenders will be given next year for a gas power plant. “The project will be carried out by private sector and the government will buy electricity from them. It will be financed by the private sector,” he said.
Morocco is also looking to sign long term agreements with some countries on liquefied natural gas and is planning to conduct a road show next year in Qatar.
Amara said the country is aiming to diversify and reduce dependence on oil and coal imports. “By 2020, we will have 42 per cent of our power from renewable energy sources,” he said.
