Baku, Azerbaijan, June 22
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Declaration of Cooperation (OPEC+), envisaging oil production cuts to balance the market is a platform that is open to all producers, said Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Energy and Industry, and President of the OPEC Conference.
He made the remarks during the 174th Meeting of the OPEC Conference.
The UAE minister said that since the last Meeting of the Conference in late November 2017, the oil market situation has further improved.
“Let me stress that our focus is on making sure that the market is both well-supplied and balanced.
This also includes looking beyond the short-term, with a specific focus on investments,” said the minister.
Al Mazrouei pointed out that the global economy is strong, oil demand remains robust, the market is evidently rebalancing, and the return of more stability has been welcomed by all stakeholders.
“So far in 2018, the pace of investment has gradually picked up, but we are still not seeing enough robust investment in long-cycle projects. These are the baseload of future supply, the foundation of this industry’s future, and will be vital to long-term global economic expansion.”
He noted that to put this into some perspective, in the period to 2040, the required global oil sector investment in OPEC’s World Oil Outlook is estimated to be $10.5 trillion, with oil demand set to surpass 111 million barrels a day by 2040.
It is also important to remember that investments are not only about boosting new production. Oil producers also need to account for natural decline rates, according to the UAE minister.
Every effort should be made to avoid a potential supply gap that could present a future serious challenge, he added.
Earlier, OPEC and several other non-OPEC producers reached an agreement to extend the production deal for a further nine months. This would shift the expiration date of the agreement from March to the end of 2018. The agreement is on the same terms as those agreed in November last year.
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