(MENAFN- The Peninsula) DOHA: H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Chairman of Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development, has called on countries that rely on oil and gas revenues to accelerate their economic diversification process.
Addressing the keynote session on ‘Energy: Global Status and Challenges’ at the Doha Forum here yesterday, Al Attiyah pointed out that the global energy market has been witnessing volatility over the past 40 years. The supply and demand have always been dictating the market prices. With Opec controlling just 30 percent of global oil production, the oil cartel has its own limitations in influencing the market price, he added.
The session was chaired by Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Dr. Syed Tauqir Shah.
Dr Antonio Isa Conde, Minister of Energy and Mines of the Dominican Republic, said his country is increasingly reducing its dependency on oil revenues. The decision is part of the government’s ambitious sustainable development programme.
The drop in oil prices has forced the Dominican Republic not only to diversify its energy sources but also to keep crude oil in reserves and move forward in using various types of renewable energy resources-such as wind and solar energy. In fact, the country is in the process of diversifying its energy portfolio, Dr Antonio said.
The Dominican Republic has also developed a legal framework to open the way for new investment opportunities along with other reform measures, he added.
The Minister For Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh, Nasrul Hamid, said that relying on ‘free’ solar energy is the future. The country uses this clean and renewable energy on a large scale. However, we are not in favour of launching giant projects due to lack of vast lands to be used for this purpose.
Bangladesh relies on natural gas, which reserves are running out, he explained, noting that the decline in oil prices helps some economies at the expenses of other, a fact that must be taken into consideration by Opec.
He stressed the need to put in place a new global renewable energy system and urged the Petroleum Exporting Countries to support it.
Dr. Ibrahim al Ibrahim, Economic Adviser to the Emiri Diwan, said Qatar was anticipating the fall in oil prices. It was taking this reality into account that the country launched its ambitious National Vision 2030.
Director-General of the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) in Vienna, Suleiman J Al-Herbish, said oil will continue to remain the primary source of global energy.
In 2011, Opec agreed to allocate $1bn for the distribution of energy among the world’s poor in 134 countries through a number of rehabilitation of electricity distribution, hydro power projects and distribution of solar lamps in African countries.
The Peninsula