Business | Oil & Gas
UAE committed to stable oil market
The UAE is strongly committed to a stable international oil market, Mohammad Bin Dha'en Al Hamili, the UAE's Minister of Energy and President of Opec, said in Dubai yesterday.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:00 April 17, 2007
Dubai: The UAE is strongly committed to a stable international oil market, Mohammad Bin Dha'en Al Hamili, the UAE's Minister of Energy and President of Opec, said in Dubai yesterday.
Speaking at the 15th Annual Middle East Petro-leum and Gas Conference in Dubai, Al Hamili said the markets are adequately supplied and Opec is prepared to lift the supplies if there is any urgent need for such an increase.
Asked about the recent reports on falling US inventories, the UAE minister said Opec does not believe in such reports. "In our view there is adequate supply and we will increase the supply if the market needs more."
Due to the recent supply curbs of 1.7 million barrels per day imposed by Opec, the crude prices have climbed close to $10.
Al Hamili said the global oil market is facing more instability from the demand side of the market than the supply side. "Escalating costs on account of rising project costs, equipment costs and wages are creating supply constraints. However, the producers are committed to keep the global market adequately supplied."
Strong challenges
The UAE oil minister said he is optimistic about the supply side of the market despite the strong challenges faced by the industry in the short to medium term in building new crude production capacities.
Al Hamili called on oil consumers to make responsible investments in achieving optimum efficiency in oil consumption while reducing the environmental impact of fossil fuel usage.
"While there have been increased investments by some of the oil consuming nations in the mining and development of competing fossil fuels like coal, there have been relatively low investments in improving the efficiency in oil and gas consumption," he said.
Speaking at the conference, Gulam Hossain Nozari, Deputy Petroleum Minister of Iran and managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, said despite the growing investments in alternate energy sources and the rhetoric of reducing dependence on hydrocarbons, oil and gas will remain the main source of energy for several decades.
"Iran is ready to play the role of stable supplier of oil and gas to the world. To make Iran a dependable source of oil there is urgent need for cooperation between Iranian and international companies in oil mining and gas recovery."
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