It is a great honour to be here in Tripoli for the 3rd Libya Energy & Economic Summit, and to listen to the wise words earlier of HE Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibeh, Libya’s Prime Minister, in his opening address.
I would like to thank the Prime Minister and his government for the continued support of OPEC, as well as their backing for the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) between OPEC and non-OPEC producers, widely known as OPEC+.
At OPEC, we look forward to continuing to work with the government’s Head of Delegation, HE Dr. Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek, Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas and his team.
I would like to also thank HE Abdulsadek for the personal invitation to deliver these remarks to Libya’s pre-eminent energy event. I wish the Organizer’s every success.
Excellences, ladies and gentlemen,
Libya has been a key member of OPEC since it joined back in 1962, just two years after the Organization was formed.
Only nine years after that, in April 1971, the ‘Tripoli Agreement’ was put together, which can be viewed as a fundamental turning point in the history of the oil industry, and of OPEC. It enabled Member Countries to have a greater say over their sovereign natural resources.
Today, Libya continues to play an important role in the Organization, and in global oil markets, despite ongoing challenges.
Excellences, ladies and gentlemen,
It is the unity and resolve of all OPEC Member Countries, and the broader OPEC+ group, which enables us to take decisions focused on market stability, which is in the interests of producers, consumers and the broader global economy.
This was particularly relevant at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the OPEC+ production adjustment decisions literally pulled the industry back from the abyss.
They enabled the industry to recover in the subsequent years, with knock-on positive impacts for economies across the world.
The attentive approach, based on precautious, proactive and pre-emptive decision making continues today, with OPEC+ ministerial meetings at the end of last year to delay and extend the timeline for the return of production adjustments to support market stability.
For some, it might appear that OPEC+ decisions are aimed solely at the short term, but this is not the case. We look at all timeframes.
We want to ensure we have a platform for future growth, for future investments and for future oil production. I cannot underscore enough how important this is.
What is clear is that this future energy and oil demand growth primarily lies in the developing world, driven by increasing populations, growing economies, an expanding middle class and rapid urbanization.
We see the global population rising from around eight billion today to 9.7 billion by 2050; we see the global economy more than doubling in size over the same time period; and over the short period to 2030 alone, it is expected that another half a billion people will move to cities across the world.
To put this in context, this urbanization drive will require the addition of approximately 420 cities the size of Tripoli.
We also need to remember the billions of people around the world that still lack access to modern energy services. The world needs to ensure that these people have at least the energy basics that others take for granted, such as turning on a light, cooking on a clean stove or having motorized transport to travel to work or school.
The future is one that requires huge investments into all energy sources. We see the oil sector alone requiring investments totaling $17.4 trillion out to 2050.
It is clear that Libya has the resources and the potential to play a vital role in our energy future.
The country has the largest crude reserves in Africa, at over 48 billion barrels. To put this in context, this represents around 3% of the world's proven oil reserves and over 40% of Africa’s proven oil reserves. Moreover, it has significant gas resources too.
It is also well-positioned as an energy hub on the Mediterranean coast, has a skilled workforce and as we can see from this conference it is open to investments and partnerships to develop its vast resources.
At OPEC, we fully support Libya’s expansion plans, and of course, I should note that half of OPEC members come from the great continent of Africa.
For Libya, for all OPEC’s African members, it is vital they have access to the necessary investment to enable their full potential and deliver the energy the world needs.
Excellences, ladies and gentlemen,
What this conference’s agenda also emphasizes is a broad approach to further energy pathways, where nothing is dismissed.
Beyond oil and gas, there are sessions on renewables, as well as a host of technologies focused on the climate challenge.
It is an approach that OPEC fully advocates. We have no doubt the world will continue to need all energies and it will need to embrace all technologies. And, of course, we have to recognize the differing needs of all peoples.
We need to invest adequately – today, tomorrow, and many decades into the future – in a manner reflecting realistic assumptions about what each energy source and every technology can offer and given the need to reduce emissions.
Understanding this future, and planning for it, is a core part of the Charter of Cooperation (CoC) between OPEC and a number of non-OPEC countries. Libya again plays an important role, and we look forward to working with the minister and his team to advance the Charter in the coming years.
To sum up, I have no doubt that Libya can be at the forefront of future oil and gas production, in developing renewables, and in utilizing technologies to improve efficiencies and reduce emissions.
It has the natural resources and as we have seen today, it has the will. We wish the government and the Libyan people all the best in these endeavours.
Thank you.