Middle East will continue to play significant part in world energy market

Energy Minister, Mohammed bin Dha'en Al Hamli has expressed great optimism about the future of oil and gas, which he said would remain the dominant primary sources of energy and that the Middle East will continue to play a significant part in the energy markets and economic development.Al Hamli, who is also the President of the OPEC Conference, made the statement in his address to the 15th Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference, which opened here today. The conference is being held under the theme: "Middle East Oil and Gas: Security of Supply vs Security of Demand - Strategies for a win-win Partnership".The UAE Minister pointed out that energy security was viewed from the consumption countries' perspective to secure abundant and uninterrupted supplies of oil at affordable prices. He said understandably, as their oil consumption increased, industrialised countries became increasingly worried about getting enough oil to fuel their countries when needed, while emerging economies like China and India are also seeking ways of securing steady and reliable supplies of energy, adding that until recently discussions at major oil conferences used to focus only on security for oil consumers. "What has been completely missing from the discussions is recognition of the producing countries' need for security of demand, in other words, transparency regarding demand and transparency regarding the policies intended to influence such demand," he said. "This would greatly strengthen producing countries' resolve to invest in future capacity expansion and the result would be greater energy security for all," he added.Al Hamli said like the consumers the producers are also facing difficulties.He cited some of those difficulties as including rising production cost due to rising cost of equipment and raw materials and shortage of skilled labour which is driving up wages. The UAE minister, who expressed optimism about the future of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) despite the significant challenges the organisation is facing, also cited OPEC's concern about the adoption of policies that seek to divert investments away from the oil industry or discriminate against oil by subsidising competing fuels. "Levying higher taxes on petroleum products again introduces additional uncertainty. In the light of such uncertainties, producing countries cannot spend precious funds needed elsewhere on expanding facilities when their customers are telling them that they intend to reduce dependence on OPEC oil," he argued.The UAE minister also stressed on the need to recognise the challenge that safeguarding the environment poses to all players in the energy industry. He said OPEC member countries were as concerned about the environment as other countries are. "Their citizens too, seek to live in a world where the air they breathe and the water they drink are clean," he said, adding that OPEC had been very active in combating local pollution through initiatives that prevent oil spills and reduce gas flaring, as well as tackling the larger issue of climate change."OPEC has supported the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, which hold great promise for making fossil fuels more environmentally friendly," he said. He pointed out that OPEC member states had shown leadership in this sense and cited the UAE's initiatives in this regard. "Last November, for example, the Abu Dhabi future Energy Company (ADFEC) agreed to collaborate with Shell in a project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. Just last month the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company announced an initiative to reduce the Emirates' CO2 emissions by almost 40%, while simultaneously increasing oil production by 10 per cent," he elaborated. Source WAM