OPEC Secretary General meets with Algeria, Qatar Energy Ministers

OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, met with HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar and President of the OPEC Conference, and HE Noureddine Boutarfa, Minister of Energy of Algeria, at a meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Monday.

The three officials said they discussed the outlook for the oil market, and considered ways that oil producers might respond to ongoing and future challenges facing the industry, according to statements made to the press after the meeting.

The Secretary General underlined the importance of working together to overcome market challenges, ensure stability, and boost security and safety. Regarding the current state of the market, the Secretary General said this was not the first time, nor would it be the last time, that there would be challenges.

The high-level meeting was also attended by Mr. Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Mr. Amine Mazouzi, CEO of Sonatrach, Algeria’s National Oil Company. They were joined by several other senior officials from the Ministries of Algeria and Qatar, and from the OPEC Secretariat.

During the tripartite meeting, the Secretary General and a member of the OPEC delegation made a presentation about oil market developments since the last Meeting of the OPEC Conference, which took place in June 2016.

The President of the OPEC Conference expressed his appreciation for OPEC’s presentation and highlighted the need for the Secretariat to continue to update all Ministers of the OPEC Conference about market developments. This should take into consideration the oil market’s dynamics and volatility in particular, he said.

The President of the OPEC Conference also emphasized the importance of making efforts among the world’s oil producers to arrive at a joint decision regarding production in the future. This, he said, would contribute toward alleviating the persistent oil inventory overhang and ensuring a rebalancing of the market.

In their statements to the press, the Secretary General, the Qatari Minister and the Algerian Minister also expressed support for the Joint Statement announced Monday by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, HE Khalid A. Al-Falih, and Russia’s Energy Minister, HE Alexander Novak, regarding an agreement to monitor the oil market and cooperate to ensure stability.