Former Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah has allayed concerns on the impact of geopolitics on energy supplies from the Middle East, and assured that Qatar “will not default” on its delivery of oil and gas exports.
Other oil suppliers in Asia “have defaulted on their exports,” but "Qatar has continued to supply oil and gas to its customers amid geopolitical issues and economic uncertainties", al-Attiyah told the media on Wednesday.
Al-Attiyah was responding to concerns raised by Narendra Taneja, chairman of Energy Security Group and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), who delivered the annual Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Energy Awards Lecture on Tuesday.
“Disturbances in the Middle East disturb us and force us to diversify our supply of oil and gas to other regions, such as Africa, Australia, and even Latin America and the US. I wish we did not have to do that.
“We all must ensure a peaceful and golden future for the entire Middle East. We, the consumers, are with you on this. India, China, Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh – and I am sure all the other importers – want to see a stable and peaceful Middle East,” said Taneja.
The former energy minister’s assurance was reiterated by Qatar Petroleum (QP) board member Nasser al-Jaidah, who said: “Qatar is one of the world’s lowest cost producers. We are still very competitive.”
“We have the most flexible operation globally, and we can manoeuvre our supply easily,” said al-Jaidah, who joined al-Attiyah during the media briefing.
Taneja, who also spoke to reporters on Wednesday, clarified that India wants to see oil prices “on a more realistic ground.”
“I think oil prices in the region of $40 to $58 per barrel would be a win-win situation for both producers and importers.
“The oil prices at the current level are right…and even if it goes up to $55 per barrel, that should be okay as long as that helps strengthen the global economy, leads to more demand in terms of other products, attracts more investment from emerging economies like India and China into the Middle East and other oil producing countries, I think that is a very happy situation.”
Taneja also stressed that oil prices beyond $60 per barrel would impact the global economy “and eventually for producers.”
“What we are basically saying is that oil prices are too low, which is bad for producers. If very low oil prices would lead to economic and social distress in our neighbourhood, we don’t want that. If prices at $45 per barrel would bring political stability, economic growth, more jobs, and more contracts for the Middle East, we want to be in that situation,” he added.