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The oil market is recovering slowly but countries need it to reach a minimum of $65 “badly,” Qatar’s Minister of Energy Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Sada has said.
Speaking to the Associated Press, he said that this would be a “fairer price” and give governments the chance to invest more in securing the world’s energy supply and “avoid any price shock.” Oil is currently trading at around $48 a barrel.
Gulf Intelligence
Former energy minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah
Qatar has weathered low oil prices before and its projects are not currently “under pressure” because of them, a senior government official has said.
Speaking to the Gulf Times this week, Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, former Minister of Energy and Industry and currently an advisor to the Emir, said:
“Yes, energy prices are low…but this is not the first time it is happening and it will not be the last either. In the 90s, oil price had fallen below $6; the current price is also much lower than it was last year, or in 2014. But oil prices are cyclical. They will rise again. It is a matter of time before that happens.”
However, earlier in the day during a panel session at the Brookings Institute he said that preparing for when Qatar’s large natural gas reserves run out, or cease to provide financial support, is a “top priority.”
For example, the nation has put an emphasis on education and economic diversification, he said.
“We know oil and gas are a depletable resource. Our oil and gas resources will take us to another 100 years or more. For a person, this may look a long time. But for a nation, 100 years is short.”
Thoughts?
After years of delays, Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Environment has set a new May 1 deadline to stop the importing of 70W and 100W tungsten (incandescent) light bulbs into the country.
The move comes after an April 2015 deadline to ban the bulbs in favor of energy-efficient LED ones lapsed. Authorities are also working to phase out energy-hungry domestic air conditioning (A/C) units but have shelved plans to do that for now, pending further study.
