Contact us | +971 4 3635663
Sponsored by   Mudabala
 
 
BETA
Loading Loading ...
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 | 00:37 GMT
 

Qatar warns of crude supply shock

Gulf News
 
 

Thursday, Dec 04, 2008

Gulf News

Dubai:  The world faces a crude supply shock if oil prices remain below $70 (Dh257.11) per barrel, Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah said on Wednesday arguing that lower prices would discourage investment in new capacity.

His comments at a petrochemicals industry conference in Dubai echo recent statements by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Oil Minister Ali Al Nuaimi, who identified $75 as a fair price for oil.

Global oil prices are one-third of what they were in July amid weakening demand due to the world economic slowdown.

Ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)Loading... meeting in Algeria on December 17 will decide a production cut, Al Attiyah said, without revealing by how much.

"For sure, we will cut in Oran (Algeria)," the minister told reporters when asked whether OpecOpecLoading..., which supplies 40 per cent of the world's oil, will reduce production.

The group postponed this decision at its November 29 meeting in Cairo.

Al Attiyah said OpecOpecLoading... is studying the supply and demand situation before deciding on the size of the cut.

A price of $70 per barrel is needed "to avoid any (supply) shock in the future," he said, explaining that this price level should be sufficient to encourage companies and oil producers to continue investing in capacity expansion projects. "Below $70, it will be non-economical to invest in the hydrocarbon sector," Al Attiyah told the Gulf Petrochemical and Chemical Association (GPCA)Gulf Petrochemical and Chemical Association (GPCA)Loading... forum. "Today there is no cheap," he added.

Now that the price has fallen dramatically to below $50, this could discourage investment in finding new deposits and extracting them from difficult places.

Countries and oil companies may postpone many upstream projects if they do not get a return on their investments, he said.

"So this is our concern that when the economic crisis is over and demand starts (to pick up) again, then the world will face a big shortage of supply," Al Attiyah said.

However, Al Attiyah said he is not working to achieve the $70 target, insisting that oil prices are market-driven and the high prices earlier this year were due to speculative futures trading in the commodities markets by financial institutions.

 

© Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.

 
 
 
Community Comments (0) - Comment on this article
The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect Zawya. Read our Comment Policy.
 
 
 
Loading ...
 
Report Abuse
Loading ...
 
 
Loading ...
Zawya Comment Policy:
 
  1. Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
    1.1   Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
    1.2   Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
    1.3   Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
    1.4   Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
    1.5   Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
    1.6   Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
    1.7   Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.
  2. The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
  3. Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
  4. By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Post Your Tender Notices for FREE
(No Sign-in Required)
 
 
Oil and Gas Tenders Due Date
Maintenance of Photocopiers and Accessories - KUWAIT PETROLEUM CORPORATION 06Dec09
Supply, Design and Construction Works for New Liquefied Gas Filling Plant Project (Umm Al Aish) - Kuwait Oil Tanker Company 25Jan10
PROVISION OF FUEL & MAINT OF FUEL OUTLETS (Tentative Bid Due Date and award date) 28Jan10
Shah Gas Field - Offsite Package 31Dec09
PROVISION OF HARBOUR TUGS, PILOT BOATS AND MOORING GANGS 15Nov09
SUPPLY OF VIGIL ANTI-SLIP STAIR NOSING FOR STAIRCASES 16Nov09
Installation, Operation & Maintenance of Integrated Security System for all company facilities consisting of Two Parts, Part A: Installation and Part B: Provision of Support, Operation & Maintenance 27Nov09
Supply of Pipe Casings “5” and Digging Pipes 3-1/2, 3-1/2 – “5” Casing 22Nov09
Bidding call for award of exploration and exploitation hydrocarbons perimeters. 20Dec09
ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTION (EPC) OF SEA WATER SUPPLY PROJECT AT SOHAR REFINERY 16Nov09
Prequalification for Off-Plot Delivery Contract (ODC) 31Dec09
IMPLEMENTATION OF MISC. PLANT CHANGE REQUESTS(PCRS) at HALUL 15Nov09
HOOK UP OF FLOWLINE,PWI & GASLIFT WELLS 13Dec09
CALL-OFF CONT FOR MACH., BAL. & METAL SPRAY AT QP VARI. LOCS 22Nov09
Supply of Chemicals for three Company Refineries - Kuwait National Petroleum Company 08Dec09
On Plot Construction Contract for Amal Steam Surface Facilities 07Feb10
Design, planning, construction and testing of high pressure flowlines at the Jurrasic oil field in the north of the country. 29Dec09
Upgrading of Basic Infrastructure for Information Technology & Communication Network for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation - Kuwait Petroleum Corporation 13Dec09
Shah Gas Field - Development Package 31Dec09
First Project EF/1713 : Construction of Oil and Gas Pipelines at Mina Al Ahmadi To Subiya and Doha Power Stations Second Project EF/1760 : Construction of Pumping Station and Oil and Gas Pipelines at Mina Al Ahmadi To Al Zoor and Shuaiba Power Stations 07Feb10
 »  More Tenders
 
 
 
Community Buzz

Stories

Companies

Most viewed companies by Community in the last 24 hrs
Company Name Country Industry
Consolidated Contractors Company Overseas Construction and Design
Saudi Telecom Saudi Arabia Telecommunications Services
Saudi Binladin Group Saudi Arabia Construction and Design
Saudi Electricity Company Saudi Arabia Electric Utilities
Emirates Aluminium Company UAE Metal Production
Roads and Transport Authority - Dubai UAE Regulatory and Administrative Bodies
Commercial International Bank (Egypt) Egypt Banking
Pepsi Cola International (Middle East) Region-wide Beverages
Dodsal Engineering and Construction UAE Construction and Design
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation UAE Telecommunications Services
 

Projects

Blogs

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Site is optimised for viewing at 1024 x 768 with Internet Explorer v6 and Firefox v3.0 and above.
Copyright © 2009 ABQ Zawya Ltd. All rights reserved. Please read our Membership Agreement