Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, on Tuesday said more investment was needed in the oil and gas sector to boost supply. AP Photo
Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, on Tuesday said more investment was needed in the oil and gas sector to boost supply. AP Photo
Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, on Tuesday said more investment was needed in the oil and gas sector to boost supply. AP Photo
Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, on Tuesday said more investment was needed in the oil and gas sector to boost supply. AP Photo

UAE and Saudi ministers call for more energy investment to meet rising crude demand


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Energy ministers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have called for increased investment in the industry and collective action as oil prices continued to trade higher amid supply concerns due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

They issued a warning that a lack of timely investment could lead to supply being unable to meet energy demand.

“When demand recovers fully, we could see a potential shortage, if we don’t invest," Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, told the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

"We are seeing some investments come back in US and others, these are good signs.”

He said the UAE was continuing to invest and there was no "huge shortage" in the market currently.

Spending in the oil and gas industry took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic and due to governments' efforts to transition to cleaner forms of energy in a bid to cut harmful emissions.

Total investment in the upstream part of the oil and gas sector fell 23 per cent below pre-coronavirus levels to $341bn in 2021, according to the International Energy Forum and IHS Markit.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, has also highlighted the importance of increasing investment in oil and gas to overcome supply shortages.

The sector needs $600 billion of investment until 2030 to keep pace with rising demand, Dr Al Jaber said.

Oil and gas will account for more than 50 per cent of the global energy mix by 2045 and will continue to play an important role, even as the world pivots towards cleaner forms of energy, Opec's secretary general Mohammed Barkindo said in March. Opec countries produce about 40 per cent of the world's crude oil.

Mr Al Mazrouei said the Opec group, which includes the world’s top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, among others, has been playing an important role in stabilising markets and boosting supply in line with demand.

He said: “We are the central bank of oil that’s why we didn’t see a 200 or 300 per cent increase and because we have that regulatory body that monitors and invests.”

“We meet [on a] monthly basis, we look at every aspect that affects demand … we are doing much more to cover our share in the area of supply. We are taking the burden … we’ve been transparent.”

Brent, the global benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, is up more than 30 per cent since the start of this year after falling from a 14-year high, when it reached almost $140 per barrel in March on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brent was down 1.84 per cent at $103.99 per barrel at 2.24pm UAE time on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was trading 1.69 per cent lower at $101.35 a barrel.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, also said dwindling capacity in the energy sector was a concern.

“The world needs to wake up to an existing reality," he said. "The world is running out of energy capacity at all levels.”

The kingdom, Opec’s biggest producer, is boosting production capacity as well as refining to cater to global demand, he said.

Opec, which meets every month to assess the market, would not allow geopolitics to affect its decisions, the Saudi Arabian energy minister said.

“We keep out politics outside the building of Opec," he said. "We leave politics out of Opec+.”

The group of oil producers, which achieved a historic reduction of 9.7 million barrels per day between May 2020 and July last year, is unwinding cuts due to improving demand. It is adding 400,000bpd to the market every month, which will increase to 432,000bpd for May and June.

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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.

The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.

The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.

The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.

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Updated: May 10, 2022, 4:10 PM