The OPEC+ group has delivered more remarkably than any other group on planet earth and demonstrated a cohesion that has brought stability and sustainability to oil markets, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.
Prince Abdulaziz was speaking during the ADIPEC 2021 opening ceremony in a panel focused on shedding light on the role that the energy industry can play in addressing climate, environment and sustainability changes.
“The responsible 23 countries have delivered, and delivered more remarkably than any other group, show me anywhere on planet earth including central bankers, that delivered more sustainability,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies, including Russia, known as the OPEC+ group, last year announced an unprecedented 9.7 million barrels per day production cut, totalling around 10 percent of global production. The announcement came in the face of an unparalleled demand slump as the COVID-19 pandemic hit commodity markets, with oil prices even turning negative at one point. Since then, the group has cautiously been increasing production while oil prices have recovered.
OPEC’s plan for maintaining stability in oil markets is partly founded in tweaking existing output agreements in monthly meetings.
“These tweaks are announced well in advance and we [have] by that delivered a stable, less volatile oil market, show me anywhere else [where this has happened],” Prince Abdulaziz said.
The regional green initiative
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced two new climate focused initiatives – the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. These plans will help the Kingdom and the Middle East become more climate friendly and sustainable, Prince Abdulaziz explained.
“We will be working together to ensure that this region will become a role model for what we mean by sustainable development, where we will meet the three pillars that we have been sharing with everybody,” he said.
In particular, energy security will be a focal point of the plan as it is “the profound, most-important element to watch out for,” with Europe’s ongoing LNG gas crisis acting as a case point, the Prince added.
