Lack of investments in energy sector causing a price surge: Saudi energy minister

Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has warned that a lack of investments in the sector could cause a surge in prices of oil and gas.

Speaking at the International Petroleum Technology Conference in Riyadh, the minster noted that innovation is necessary to ensure a plan to use renewables to generate half of the energy required by the Kingdom by 2030 is realised.

He said: “A sharp downturn in oil and gas investment is jeopardizing energy security, as we see today, and I have been warning about it for a few months. And there is a real risk that the world will not be able to produce all the energy it needs to fuel recovery.”

He added: “Saudi needs to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. And if technology helps us, we can even achieve that ahead of that date.”

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman noted that the ongoing pandemic and the recovery underway have taught us the value of caution. He also added that the world may not be able to produce all the energy needed for economic recovery from the Covid pandemic.