The UAE is committed to supporting the OPEC to maintain stable, cost effective and efficient crude supplies, the country’s energy minister has said.
H E Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei headed the UAE delegation to the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting in Vienna last week.
“The move by many major companies to cancel production capacity expansion projects would have a positive impact on the balance in the supply and demand,” Al Mazrouei said.
Al Mazrouei said he predicted a growth in demand by 1.3mn barrels a day (bpd) in 2016, adding: “I am confident the market will stabilise in 2016.”
The OPEC meeting concluded with major oil producing nations deciding to keep crude current high levels, effectively acknowledging their inability to push up crude prices.
An attempt to nudge the cost of oil higher would have involved lowering output. Instead, OPEC’s endorsement of present output, which is more than 1.5mn bpd above the formal ceiling of 30mn bpd, is likely to push the price of oil down further.
OPEC ministers appeared to have little choice as member nations, Iran being the most vocal, were opposed to reducing output. Instead, OPEC is poised to produce more oil.
