OPEC Secretary General, Abdalla Salem El-Badri
By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku
Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Abdalla Salem El-Badri, has highlighted the importance of a stable price for both producers and consumers.
He noted that it was conducive for global economic growth as it allowed producers to invest to meet future demand.
Speaking at the 9th ministerial-level meeting of the energy dialogue between OPEC and the European Union (EU) in Brussels last week, El-Badri emphasised that low oil prices could break the momentum of investment in the oil industry, and in other forms of energy, which will in turn “has a knock-on impact on future additional supply.”
He however reiterated OPEC’s commitment to supporting market stability in making sure consumers have secure and stable supplies, but highlighted the importance of understanding the other side of the security of demand.
A statement from OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria said the market outlook topped discussion at the first session of the meeting, which looked at oil market developments, energy policies and the long-term outlook.
In a presentation, the EU provided an overview of the latest set of policies recently adopted by the Commission with a particular emphasis on the internal energy market and the Energy Roadmap 2050. Also, the need to move towards a broader energy base by 2050 was outlined, as well as the important role oil and gas will continue to play in that context.
Based on these policies, energy demand projections for the EU-27, specifically oil demand, were also presented up to 2050.
OPEC, supplier of the third of world’s oil was said to have also highlighted recent oil market developments and prospects, which featured the various uncertainties, such as debt burdens and high unemployment that still exist around the global economic recovery, albeit with varying effects across regions.
OPEC however restated at that conference that oil will remain the leading fuel type in satisfying the world’s growing energy needs for the foreseeable future.