DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates will work with OPEC+ to make sure the energy market is stable, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei said on Monday at an industry event.
He said the UAE was doing its best to raise capacity to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) but that did not mean it wanted to act on its own or leave OPEC+, a group that includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and others.
“We as a country are trying to do our best. We are investing and raising our capacity to 5 million barrels,” said Mazrouei.
“But that does not mean that we will leave OPEC+ or do something unilateral. We will work with this group to ensure that the market is stable.”
The oil market has been volatile, buffeted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the expansion of COVID-related lockdowns in China, the world’s largest crude importer.
The minister said Russia, with its 10 million barrels of oil a day, is an important member of the global OPEC+ energy alliance.
“And leaving the politics aside, that volume is needed today,” Al-Mazrouei said. “Unless someone is willing to come and bring 10 million barrels, we don’t see that someone can substitute Russia.”
Benchmark Brent crude surged 11.5 percent last week on concerns that sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis would start to bite into its production and exports.
It was down more than 3 percent on Monday.
In the short term, energy markets could tighten with oil demand up almost 3 million bpd over the last year, said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
He said volatility in prices was the result of an underlying structural issue and demand was expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by the fourth quarter of this year.
(With inputs from AP)
