(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA
Istanbul: Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada said the unfair siege imposed by the neighbouring countries has highlighted the strength, rigidity and diversity of the State of Qatar's economy.
At the opening session of the 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) here, the minister said Qatar's exports to Japan, India, South Korea and China forms nearly three quarters the country's total exports and are not affected by the siege, while exports to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain form less than eight percent of total exports, hence the siege's impact is limited.
Dr Al Sada said Qatar is a trusted and reliable supplier that guarantees supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its partners for more than 20 years, and it remains committed to all partnership agreements and is keen to maintain its place in spite of the unlawful and unfair imposed siege.
The minister confirmed the importance of achieving a balance between supply and demand, and to harmonise all the different energy resources, its production and consumption. Energy serves as the heart of the global economy and will remain to play a pivotal role in contributing to the economy's growth and prosperity in the near future, Dr Al Sada added.
Qatar's strategy, led by its wise leadership, aims to encourage investment in the energy sector, referring in this regard to Qatar's announcement last week about the increase in its LNG production capacity of the North Field from 77 million tonnes to almost 100 million tonnes within five to seven years.
The Minister touched on the global economic effect the decrease in oil prices is having in the past three years and its impact on the energy sector investments. He also referred to the important and effective role Qatar played to rebalance the oil market through coordinating the efforts of oil-producing members and non-members of Opec during its presidential term in 2016 and most of 2015, which resulted in the Vienna agreement by Opec members and major non-member oil-producing countries that decided to decrease production to nearly 1.8 million barrels per day.
Referring to the 2017 WPC's theme of "Bridges to our Energy Future," the Minister said that in order to build those bridges, a better investment environment must be provided in the energy sector, adding that it requires more efforts and close cooperation among producers and consumers.
Dr Al Sada noted the increase in demand for fossil fuel's oil, gas and coal. These fuels will remain to form nearly three quarters of the world's energy supply in 2040 and only the share of LNG will increase from 33 percent to around 50 percent by 2035.
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