Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.30 / Trend A.Badalova /
OPEC members in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region produced around 23.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, which is more than 90 percent of all oil production in the entire MENA region, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri said in a speech at the conference "Middle East & North Africa Energy 2012, Investing for the Future in Turbulent Times" in London.
"The MENA region is obviously critical to satisfying the world's energy needs. This is why any uncertainty in the region is likely to have a serious global impact," he said.
El-Badri stressed that OPEC member countries in MENA together have 840 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 80 trillion cubic metres of proven gas reserves, which represents about 58 percent and 43 percent of global totals, respectively.
El-Badri said that domestic demand in the MENA region an important source of rising global oil demand.
"With energy demand growing both in MENA and developing Asia, the importance of maintaining upstream energy investments is clear," he said.
He predicts that an estimated $525 billion in oil, gas and electricity generation are seen over the next four or five years across the entire MENA region.
OPEC members in the MENA region are expected to invest around $200 billion in 83 upstream projects through 2015. This is expected to result in an estimated net increase of liquids capacity of about 4.6 million barrels per day.