Senior oil officials from across the Middle East have warned that producers should not get overly optimistic about the recent rise in oil prices and that demand for hydrocarbons is still low across developed world markets.
Qatar’s oil minister Abdullah Al-Attiyah said that demand for oil and gas is still low and that the Gulf state had delayed a number of major projects until countries start easing their way out of recession.
“We shouldn’t be too optimistic. We should watch the market and economy,” Al-Attiyah told Reuters.
Al-Attiyah’s comments were backed up by the OPEC secretary general, Abdalla El Badri. El Badri said that the current high price did not reflect the market and that oil coming under speculative attack could lead to some countries back into recession.
“Speculators are coming back, not only into oil but other commodities,” El Badri told reporters in Vienna.
The OPEC chief added that he preferred to see a gradual rise in oil prices that was connected to economic growth.
Kuwait’s oil minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah joined the debate by stating that his country does not favour a high oil price because of fears that it would stifle global recovery.
“We are not in favour to see the prices in the hundreds (of dollars a barrel) because this will fuel recession again,” the minister is reported by AFP as saying.
