Learn more about Hart Energy Conferences
Get our latest conference schedules, updates and insights straight to your inbox.
The United Arab Emirates believes OPEC+ made the correct technical choice when it agreed to cut production targets and the unanimous decision had nothing to do with politics, energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Oct. 18.
His comments came after several members of the oil producers group endorsed the steep cut to output targets agreed this month after the White House accused Saudi Arabia of coercing some other nations into supporting the move, a charge Riyadh denies.
OPEC+ comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia.
"We fully trust and believe in the technical credibility of OPEC and OPEC+. We always meet and discuss the facts based on our analysis of the market and how we can all contribute to taking the right measures to balance the supply and demand, and that decision is always taken unanimously and the last decision was taken on the same logic," Mazrouei told reporters.
"I would like to reiterate that there is nothing political about any decision we take in OPEC."
Coming ahead of November mid-term elections in the United States, the move drew sharp criticism from the Biden administration which said there would be "consequences" for U.S. ties with Riyadh.
The United States has stressed the cut would boost Russia's foreign earnings and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
Kuwait's foreign ministry on Oct. 18 also lent its support to the Saudi stance on the cuts, saying in a statement that the collective decision had a "purely economic framework."
Mazrouei said the OPEC+ decision stabilized prices, rather than increasing them, adding it was lack of stability that was driving investors away.
"Prices have been stabilizing and actually if you look at October 2021 before anything - before all the crises, the geopolitical ones - you would see we are in the same price environment," the Emirati minister said.
He voiced concern that many oil producers had lost capacity due to lack of investment.
Asked if the UAE planned to ask for a higher baseline as it works to build its own capacity to 5 MMbbl/d by 2030, Mazrouei said there was a mechanism for any country to raise that request.
Recommended Reading
Help Wanted (Badly): Attracting Workers to Energy is Becoming Difficult
2024-03-27 - Attracting workers to the energy industry is becoming a difficult job, despite forecasted growth in the industry.
Stena Evolution Upgrade Planned for Sparta Ops
2024-03-27 - The seventh-gen drillship will be upgraded with a 20,000-psi equipment package starting in 2026.
Petrobras to Step Up Exploration with $7.5B in Capex, CEO Says
2024-03-26 - Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates said the company is considering exploration opportunities from the Equatorial margin of South America to West Africa.
E&P Highlights: March 25, 2024
2024-03-25 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including a FEED planned for Venus and new contract awards.
TotalEnergies Restarts Gas Production at Tyra Hub in Danish North Sea
2024-03-22 - TotalEnergies said the Tyra hub will produce 5.7 MMcm of gas and 22,000 bbl/d of condensate.