Introductory remarks by OPEC Secretary General

Delivered by HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, at the launch of the 2021 Annual Statistical Bulletin, 30 September 2021, via videoconference.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to this official launch of the 2021 Annual Statistical Bulletin.

Allow me to begin by welcoming our special guest and co-sponsor of this event Professor Thomas Lindner from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. This excellent institution of higher-education located right here in OPEC’s host city of Vienna is providing valuable training to the next generation of managers through its Masters programme in Energy Management.

Professor Lindner, the work you are doing through this programme is of high importance, particularly when you see the ongoing need for highly qualified professionals to lead our industry into the coming decades. We thank you for joining us today as a co-sponsor and hope we can continue to collaborate together in the coming years.

Ladies and gentlemen,

First published in 1965 and now in its 56th edition, the Annual Statistical Bulletin, the ASB, is one of OPEC’s flagship publications. Through the decades, it has become a highly valued resource for stakeholders across the industry.

A leading corporate executive once said, and I quote:

“The goal is to turn data into information and information into insight.”

These words encapsulate perfectly what we are trying to achieve with this publication.

Our readers, which include heads of industry, policymakers, energy analysts and academics, have increasingly turned to the ASB as a go-to reference tool for essential data on the global oil and gas industry. What they glean from the pages of the ASB will help them both form their insights and inform their decisions.

We at OPEC are dedicated to enhancing data transparency through broad dissemination of accurate and timely oil and gas data, not only for the ASB, but for all of our publications. Indeed, maintaining transparency in all that we do underpins our core goal of establishing sustainable oil market stability.

In terms of content, the ASB offers key statistical data for all of OPEC’s Member Countries, as well as valuable data related to non-OPEC oil producing countries. Readers will also benefit from valuable data on exports, imports, production, demand, refineries and shipping.

This year’s edition of the ASB reflects some of massive shifts in the industry that have resulted from the unprecedented effects of last year’s COVID-19 pandemic. This global health crisis has had massive implications for OPEC’s Member Countries and the entire industry value chain, which are still in various stages of recovery. These trends are captured in the ASB’s extensive time-series data, which will provide industry leaders and analysts alike with valuable input as to the future prospects for the industry.

In order to maximize access to this publication, we continue to leverage the latest emerging technologies. Now, in addition to the published print edition, there is a PDF version as well as an interactive online version that present historical data going back to 1960. Additionally, to further enhance access to the ASB’s content, we offer a SmartApp version for iOS and Android devices enabling access to valuable data at virtually any time and wherever you may be in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This year’s Annual Statistical Bulletin is being launched amidst a special occasion as we celebrate the 61th Anniversary of OPEC’s founding on September 14th, 1960. This flagship publication has been produced for more than five-decades through a wide variety of industry environments and oil market cycles that experienced great successes but also very challenging down-swings.

Through it all, the ASB has, time and again, successfully fulfilled its mandate of providing a thorough, yearly statistical overview on OPEC’s Member Countries and the global industry.

Today, and moving forward, data will continue to stay at the core of OPEC’s ongoing activities in the global energy markets.

OPEC and its non-OPEC partners of the Declaration of Cooperation continue to make highly responsible and effective decisions based predominantly on accurate, timely and transparent data and statistics.

I would like to commend the OPEC Conference, the Board of Governors and the Economic Commission Board − OPEC’s economic think-tank − for their highly valuable contributions to our common efforts in optimizing our data flows in the interest of oil market stability. Without our Member Countries’ crucial input and contributions, we would not be able to produce this publication.

Additionally, OPEC continues to collaborate with the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), to ensure that accurate, timely and transparent data flows are constantly being optimized for the benefit of our joint efforts and for the wider oil industry.

These initiatives all point to OPEC’s ongoing commitment to 100% transparency in all that we do. The credibility of the Organization has indeed been further enhanced thanks to these endeavours.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to take a moment before closing to thank our colleagues at the OPEC Secretariat, particularly the Data Services Department, under the leadership of Ms. Boshra AlSeiari, for their formidable efforts in collaborating with our Member Countries to develop this excellent piece of work. I commend you all for producing a publication of high quality and timeliness that will be of great benefit to industry stakeholders.

We will now have the opportunity to screen a video highlighting the key findings of this year’s Annual Statistical Bulletin, after which we will hear remarks from our special guest and co-sponsor. This will be followed by a panel discussion on the key findings featuring analysts from the Data Services Department and finally a Q&A session with the international media.

I thank you all for attending and I wish us all a highly successful launch event today.

Thank you for your attention.