The power of teamwork

OPEC Bulletin Commentary – March-April 2023

In the course of putting together the various content features for this issue of the OPEC Bulletin, it started to become apparent that there was a recurring theme threading its way through the various articles. That theme is teamwork.

And what’s interesting is that despite the wide variety of topics covered in this edition, from energy to diplomacy to sport to space travel, this theme was a common strand.

In mid-March, the Secretariat welcomed back former Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri for a special reception. In addressing the staff at this special event, El-Badri underlined the vital importance of teamwork and cooperation, adding that the Secretariat’s staff were “the engine that drove the Organization forward.” During his tenure, El-Badri’s laser focus on teamwork with global energy partners resulted in the establishment of stakeholder dialogue initiatives, which now include Africa, India, Russia, China, the European Union, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Energy Forum (IEF). These dialogue events, along with the landmark Declaration and Charter of Cooperation, will continue to be pillars of OPEC’s global energy cooperation efforts with stakeholders across the industry.

In this edition, we also chronicled Venezuela’s participation at the World Baseball Classic, which provided ten days of gripping competition between the world’s best baseball teams. There will be no spoiler alert here − you will have to read the feature to see how it all turned out, but let’s just say Venezuela displayed teamwork at its best!

Our feature on the SpaceX Mission 6 launch represents an historic moment for the UAE, marking the first Emirati astronaut to fly on a commercial space capsule and the second to board the International Space Station. Sultan Saif AlNeyadi joined three other astronauts, two from NASA and one from Russia, to go where no Emirati has been before. The success of this international space mission is yet another textbook example of global teamwork at its best.

OPEC Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais, in addressing the 2nd High-level Meeting of the OPEC-Africa Dialogue in February, emphasized that the only way forward in addressing future global challenges is through teamwork with industry partners. He put it this way:

“Our meeting today is part of OPEC’s extensive programme of dialogue initiatives, which include the European Union, China, India, Russia, as well as international organizations and global corporations. We look forward to exploring avenues for enhanced dialogue with other energy producers and consumers as well. These initiatives underpin our belief that cooperation and dialogue among all energy stakeholders are absolutely essential to effectively address our common energy needs.”

OPEC Bulletin March-April 2023

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