The energy ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have said that there was need for investment to ensure supply security and affordable prices as the world is looking to transiting away from gas which they believe the world will need for a long time.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Summit, Qatari state minister for energy, Saad al-Kaabi said although a mild winter season seen by Europeans countries resulted in the price of natural gas coming down, volatility would remain given there was not much gas coming into the market until 2025.
“The issue is what’s going to happen when they (Europe) want to replenish their storages this coming year and the next year,” he was quoted to have said.
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Speaking at the same summit, UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei echoed his Qatari counterpart’s assertion about the continuous availability of gas in the market, adding that while more renewable energy would be installed, more investment was needed in gas as a base load.
“The whole world needs to think of resources and how to enable companies to produce more gas to make it available and affordable,” Mazrouei said.
Meanwhile, Kaabi said the call for African countries to stop drilling for oil and gas by some western countries who are pushing for green energy was unfair as they were important for their economies and the world needed more supply.
Mazrouei said the “unclear” strategy of many countries made it difficult for them to commit to long-term gas contracts which in turn made it hard for energy companies to secure financing to invest in developing production capacity.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
