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Asif Iqbal
Doha
Minister of Energy and Industry HE Mohammed bin Saleh al Sada on Wednesday said Qatar's spirited efforts went a long way in helping OPEC strike an oil-production-cut deal with member countries in November last year.
"Despite the difficulties and challenges in 2016, Qatar was successful in its mission and spearheaded a cohesive, credible, and continuous effective action to build a firm and common ground based on collaborative efforts among producers, both within and outside OPEC," Sada said while addressing the Energy and Economic Diversification Policies Roundtable in Doha.
The event was organised by Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC) and Rice University's Baker Institute in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Industry and Qatar University.
Sada said under the guidance of the Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, Qatar embarked on a mission to find out the best ways and means to restore balance to the oil market and the recovery of the global economy.
He said as the holder of the OPEC presidency and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in 2016, Qatar played a responsible role in addressing the global energy needs and market challenges associated with it.
According to Sada, Qatar, through a series of meetings, helped OPEC reach the historic resolutions on November 30 and December 10, 2016, to reduce member production by around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and non-member production by around 600,000 bpd. The deal was aimed at supporting OPEC efforts in expediting the rebalancing of supply and demand.
Talking about the impact of low oil prices for the GCC economies, Sada said the dramatic drop in the price of oil from a peak of $115 per barrel in June 2014 to under $30 in January 2016 negatively affected the economies of the GCC countries which heavily rely on oil exports.
He said the drop in oil price and the World economic slowdown have opened up windows of opportunities for the GCC countries."This situation has given a thrust to GCC economic diversification in the wake of these challenges, and also led to improving efficiency through cost reduction, mergers and so on," he said.
Outlining the country's strategy to cope with the current scenario, Sada said Qatar has intensified the use of all applicable means for increasing efficiency of production, while focusing on cost reduction and maintaining safety and reliability, thereby increasing the competitiveness of its hydrocarbon industry.
Sada pointed out that successful investment in hydrocarbons has been the main engine for sustained and rapid economic growth in Qatar.
On the impact of low oil prices for the world economy, Sada said when oil price was more than $100, the world GDP was healthier scoring more than 5 percent growth but now it is anemic with less than 3 percent, during the current low oil price period.
"There are no winners from the oil price drop, it has been a negative sum game, stressing that a healthier oil industry leads to a healthier world economy," Sada added.
