No immediate solution to oil Price hike- OPEC
In the face of subsisting lack of investment in oil and gas, the end to oil price hike may be more difficult to achieve than anticipated. Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and Congo’s minister of hydrocarbons made this observation while addressing an energy conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The President of the oil cartel said that the oil-producing countries’ capacity to increase crude supply is curtailed by a lack of investment in the industry. Hence, there is no “immediate solution” to high oil prices.
The forum, which included speakers from OPEC, the International Energy Agency, IEA, and the International Energy Forum, IEF, presented varying forecasts for oil demand and discussed energy security and market stability.
Joseph McMonigle, secretary-general of the Saudi-based International Energy Forum commenting on the progress made towards transition said: “We are not on track. So how should policymakers respond to this dilemma? The reality is that 80 percent of the world’s energy needs continue to be met by fossil fuels”.
He said further that global energy demand has “roared back” to pre-pandemic levels, but that investments in oil and gas are not back to where they were before the COVID-19 crisis.
The conference was held to further debate how the world should best transition away from fossil fuels and other sources of carbon emissions. Major oil-producing nations, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, UAE have long argued that a rapid energy transition away from the fossil fuels that they continue to rely on for revenue will impact global economic growth and hurt the world’s poorest.
The IEF is the largest organisation of energy ministers, with 71 member states, including the US.
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