(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada said yesterday Qatar played a crucial role, as the President of Opec and Gas Exporting Countries Forum in 2016, in restoring balance in the global oil market.
He was speaking at The Energy and Economic Diversification Policies Roundtable, organised by Qatar Leadership Centre and Rice University's Baker Institute in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Industry and Qatar University.
'Qatar played a responsible role in addressing the global energy needs and the associated market turbulence. Qatar embarked on a mission to find out the best ways and means to restore balance to the oil market and the much needed recovery of the world economy, said Dr Al Sada.
'In doing so, Qatar was relying on its solid relations with the international community, he added. Despite the difficulties and challenges faced during this period, Qatar was successful in its mission and spearheaded a cohesive, credible, and continuous effective action to build a firm and common ground based on collaborative efforts among producers, both within and outside Opec, he added. 'Through a series of meetings culminating in the historic resolutions made on November 30 and December 10, Opec agreed to reduce its production by around 1.2 million barrels per day and 11 Non-Opec producers agreed to cut an additional around 600,000 million barrels per day, supporting Opec efforts in expediting the rebalancing of supply and demand and drawdown of the stock overhang, currently at a high level, Dr Al Sada added.
The Minister noted that the drop in oil price and the World economic slowdown has opened up windows of opportunities for the GCC countries. This situation gave a thrust to GCC economic diversification in the wake of these challenges, and also embarked in improving efficiency through cost reduction, mergers and so on.
Qatar's strategy in energy sector covers a range of objectives to contribute to the development and growth of its economy and meet all the energy needs of the domestic market, he explained.
Dr Al Sada said the successful investment in hydrocarbons has been the main engine for sustained and rapid economic growth in Qatar, stressing on its plan to keep monetising hydrocarbon resources to support further development and transform the nation into a sustainable and diversified economy.
'The energy market has been characterised by uneconomic prices which are damaging to both producers and consumers which hinder critical industry investments, needed for energy security few years down the line, he said.
'Unprecedented level of investment drop over two consecutive years is jeopardising security of supply which can manifest itself in two to three years from now. While it may appear to be positive, fitting a lower energy bill, the inevitable consequences have been lower World GDP, job losses and deflation, he added.
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