Saudi Arabia, leading OPEC, and Russia insist that COP28 should focus on emissions rather than the fossil fuels causing them.
Top Arab energy ministers from OPEC arrived in Doha on Monday for the 12th Arab Energy Conference, as the United Nations COP28 climate summit in Dubai witnesses intense debates over a potential accord to gradually eliminate fossil fuels.
OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, in a letter dated December 6 and obtained by Reuters, called on OPEC members to resist any COP28 deal that targets fossil fuels instead of emissions.
Given that OPEC countries control a substantial 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves, concentrated primarily in the Middle East, the stakes are exceptionally high.
Oil-dependent economies are facing a critical juncture, as any COP28 message advocating a reduction in oil and gas demand is perceived as an existential threat.
Ministers from Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Libya, and non-OPEC member Oman have convened for the energy meeting, alongside Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who came to Doha after the UN climate summit in Dubai.
Notably absent is United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, as the UAE, an OPEC member and host of COP28, aligns itself with other Gulf energy producers advocating for a pragmatic energy transition.
Qatar, having left OPEC, echoes the sentiments of oil and gas producing nations, emphasising its substantial investments in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.
“Qatar has taken bold strategic decisions, investing tens of billions of dollars in the LNG industry, at a time when many doubted the feasibility of such investments. Our decision at the time was based on a realistic understanding of market fundamentals and efforts to reduce global carbon emissions,” Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al Kaabi told the conference.
Sultan Al Jaber, chief of UAE state oil giant ADNOC and president of COP28, maintains that a phasing out of fossil fuels is inevitable, but stressed the need for a transition that considers the unique circumstances of each country.
Saudi Arabia, leading OPEC, and Russia insist that COP28 should focus on emissions rather than the fossil fuels causing them.
At least 80 countries, including the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable nations, are demanding a COP28 deal explicitly calling for an eventual end to fossil fuel use.
“Kuwait works according to a policy based on preserving the sources of petroleum wealth and their optimal exploitation and development,” Oil Minister Saad Al Barrak said, expressing Kuwait’s steadfast rejection of any fossil fuel phase-out inclusion in the COP28 draft deal.
However, he emphasised his country’s commitment to greenhouse gas reduction for environmental protection.
Similar to Al Kaabi, Barrak underlined the significance of making investments to enhance the production capabilities of energy resources based on fossil fuels.
Agreements reached at UN climate summits require unanimous approval among the nearly 200 participating countries. These summits seek to create a unified understanding of the global actions required to tackle climate change, with the responsibility lying with individual states to implement these measures through their national policies and investments.
The conclusion of COP28 is set for December 12, coinciding with the end of the two-day Arab Energy Conference in Qatar.
North Field expansion
Qatar is currently undergoing a multi-billion North Field expansion project that is leading the Gulf state’s drive to lead worldwide LNG supply.
The nearly $30 billion North Field Expansion includes six LNG trains that will drastically increase Qatar’s liquefaction capacity by 64% by 2027.
The first is set to ramp up Qatar’s production from 77 to 110 million tonnes per annum as the NFS will increase the production capacity from 110 to 126 million tonnes per annum.
QatarEnergy announced eight international partnership agreements this year for both phases of the projects, set to kick start in 2026 and 2027.
What is OPEC?
At the core of OPEC are 13 members. OPEC was founded in Iraq’s capital Baghdad, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
These founding members were later joined by Qatar in 1961, Indonesia in 1962, Libya in 1962, the United Arab Emirates in 1967, Algeria in 1969, Nigeria in 1971, Ecuador in 1973, Gabon in 1975, Angola in 2007, Equatorial Guinea in 2017, and Congo in 2018.
Qatar terminated its membership on 1 January 2019, bringing the total number of OPEC members to 13.
Today, OPEC members produce approximately 30% of the globe’s crude oil, which equates to about 28 million barrels a day. The biggest single oil producer within OPEC is Saudi Arabia, which produces more than 10 million barrels per day.
In 2016, when oil prices were distinctly low, OPEC joined forces with 10 non-OPEC oil producing countries to create OPEC+.
OPEC+ is a group of 23 oil-exporting countries that meet every month in Vienna to decide the amount of crude oil that should be supplied in the world market. Among them is Russia, which also produces over 10 million barrels a day. Together, these nations produce about 40% of the world’s overall crude oil.
“OPEC+ tailors supply and demand to balance the market,” Kate Dourian of the Energy Institute said, according to the BBC. “They keep prices high by lowering supplies when the demand for oil slumps.”
The capacity to lower prices by putting more oil onto the market, which is what major importers like the US and UK want OPEC+ to do, is also within the group’s scope.
