Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada led the country’s delegation to the CERAWeek Conference that was held in Houston last week. 

Minister Al-Sada and delegation attended a panel discussion on ‘Oil and Gas in a World of Transition’. Dr Al-Sada said that the transition the world is currently witnessing has been towards a cleaner environment. He emphasised that the way to achieve this goal was to increase investment in technology to attain the balance between using fossil fuels and at the same time avoiding damage to the environment.

Dr Al-Sada also participated in the OPEC Ministerial Roundtable that was held on the sideline of the conference under the title ‘Climate and Sustainability’. Dr Al-Sada highlighted Qatar’s status as a reliable producer of cleaner fuel. He reiterated that fossil fuels are here to stay and that technology is key to reduce the effect on world climate.

Dr Al-Sada also participated in a panel session on the alliance between OPEC and non-OPEC producers. Joined by OPEC SG Mohammed Barkindo, ministers of energy from Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan, the panel reviewed the way OPEC managed to form the successful alliance with a number of non-OPEC producers to cut production with a compliance rate of over 100%.

The panel praised the efforts exerted by the State of Qatar as president of OPEC during 2016 and most of 2015 in engineering the historic agreement and emphasised its position as an influential authority in the fields of gas as well as oil. Al-Sada said that the agreement was aimed at restoring balance to the oil market for the benefit of both producers and consumers.

The minister also met separately with Bekhit Shabib Al-Rashidi, Kuwait Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water; Andy Swiger, ExxonMobil Senior Vice President; Marco Alvera, SNAM CEO; Mohammed Barkindo OPEC SG; and Yury Sentyurin GECF SG.

CERA (Cambridge Energy Research Associates) was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1983. The energy research and consulting firm quickly became known for its critical knowledge and independent analysis on energy markets, geopolitics, industry trends, technology and strategy. The conference is distinctive because of the  depth and breadth of its content and the quality of the dialogue among participants.

For more information about CERAWeek, visit their website at ceraweek.com.