Editorial Editorial The State of Kuwait believes in the necessity of reinforcing its relations with all countries in the world; besides expanding its relations on the basis of mutual respect and common interests. This belief is stemmed from realizing the major role it plays in the international economy as one of the key energy suppliers in the world. Accordingly, it has signed several conventions and cooperation protocols with many countries in different fields among which energy, technology and investment. These conventions have opened new horizons for the State of Kuwait to bolster its international status particularly on the level of the international oil industry. Consequently, Kuwait has moved towards the Asian east where the demand on oil and its distillates is high; in addition, it has reinforced its existence there through entering profitable investment projects in some countries such China and Vietnam. This step followed the ostensible success it managed to fulfill in the European market despite the huge challenges and tough competition there. Moreover, the State of Kuwait managed through its oil companies which are affiliated to the Kuwaiti oil sector to obtain many marketing shares in different fields such exploration, producing, refining and also in petrol stations. The State of Kuwait managed further to achieve a new success on the level of the international relations among its keenness to develop its relations with the international, Arab and foreign institutions and organizations. Accordingly, it has recently signed a number of memoranda of understanding with the Russian Federation in several fields among which oil, investment and technology to avail of the huge capabilities that the Russian Federation possesses particularly in oil and gas; the matter will help bolster the ability of the Kuwaiti oil industry internationally. Editorial
Transcript
Editorial
Editorial
The State of Kuwait believes in the necessity of reinforcing its relations with all countries in the world; besides expanding its relations on the basis of mutual respect and common interests. This belief is stemmed from realizing the major role it plays in the international economy as one of the key energy suppliers in the world. Accordingly, it has signed several conventions and cooperation protocols with many countries in different fields among which energy, technology and investment.
These conventions have opened new horizons for the State of Kuwait to bolster its international status particularly on the level of the international oil industry. Consequently, Kuwait has moved towards the Asian east where the demand on oil and its distillates is high; in addition, it has reinforced its existence there through entering profitable investment projects in some countries such China and Vietnam. This step followed the ostensible success it managed to fulfill in the European market despite the huge challenges and tough competition there. Moreover, the State of Kuwait managed through its oil companies which are affiliated to the Kuwaiti oil sector to obtain many marketing shares in different fields such exploration, producing, refining and also in petrol stations.
The State of Kuwait managed further to achieve a new success on the level of the international relations among its keenness to develop its relations with the international, Arab and foreign institutions and organizations. Accordingly, it has recently signed a number of memoranda of understanding with the Russian Federation in several fields among which oil, investment and technology to avail of the huge capabilities that the Russian Federation possesses particularly in oil and gas; the matter will help bolster the ability of the Kuwaiti oil industry internationally.
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Quarterly magazine published by Ministry of Oil,The State of Kuwait Issue 40th – May 2015
Editorial StaffPetroleum Media and Public Relations
Department – Ministry of Oil
Opinions and articles published in the magazine reflect the opinion of their writers not the magazine’s viewpoint.
Correspondences to:Petroleum Media and Public Relations
Ghazi Al-Mutairi: 70% of CFP is financed by foreign authorities
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah: KUFPEC to produce 200,000 bpd in the coming five years moo_kw @moo_kw
Study 42
22 GCC Petroleum MediaForum…Cases & Challenges
Marvelous results achieved by Kuwaiti-Russian joint cooperation committee 16
File OfThe Issue
Oil Occasion
Destiny of oil under the results of Paris Conference of climate changeDestiny of oil under the results of Paris Conference of climate change
4May 2015 Issue 40
Minister of Oil, State Minister for Parliament Affairs Dr. Ali Al-Omair said the oil case is not only important for the State of Kuwait but it is also important for the entire world, stressing the importance of spreading oil culture among students in the various educational phase whether through curricula or through scholastic activities.He added during his participation in an honoring celebration held for the excellent female students of Qurtuba Secondary School for girls that a study is being conducted in collaboration with Oil Ministry and Ministry of Education to select the ideal way of teaching the oil case which is an international cause.Al-Omair also indicated that the projects of Ministry of Education have not yet influenced negatively by the decline of oil prices, hoping such decline does not influence the major projects of all government authorities.
He clarified that HH the Amir gave directions to convert to the renewable energy gradually and use 15% of it by 2030, considering such tendency one of the governmental tasks as the entire world is keen now on the renewable energy. He pointed out that the State of Kuwait has already started applying the project of the renewable energy experimentally in some areas such as Al-Abdaliya, governmental authorities and cooperative societies.He further stressed that the educational case is one of the government’s priorities, as HH the Amir gave directions to develop and rehabilitate necessarily manpower through education and training. He added that HH the Prime Minister stressed also that the educational process in Kuwait is very essential to educate the citizen the correct bases of good citizenship.
Al-Omair: A study conducted to insert oil case in curricula
Oil News
Dr. Ali Saleh Al-Omair - Minister of Oil, State Minister for Parliament Affairs
4May 2015 Issue 40
5May 2015 Issue 40
Minister of Oil, State Minister for Parliament Affairs Dr. Ali Saleh Al-Omair announced allotting 10 square meters affiliated to Kuwait Gulf Oil Company in south Kuwait to establish a petroleum industrial zone.Hailing the efforts exerted by CEO of KPC Mr. Nizar Al-Adsani, Managing Director of Finance Sector at KPC Ali Al-Hajeri and CEO of KGOC Ali Al-Shimmari to allot such area, Al-Omair said the aforementioned area has been allotted to optimize the substantial role of the petroleum industrial area in bolstering the participation of the private sector in the various activities of the Kuwaiti sector. He clarified that such industrial area will include plants for subsequent industries such as refining and petrochemicals which have been identified as per joint technical studies conducted by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait National Petroleum Company and Petrochemical Industries Company. Add to this other various activities and necessary services to meet the needs of the oil companies with high quality. “As per the primary studies conducted by KPC in this domain, the proposed petroleum industrial
zone will achieve an added value in the local economy worth $4 billion during the first five years; in addition to providing 1300 job vacancies for the Kuwaiti citizens in the private sector,” Al-Omair added. He also said that KPC will start coordinating with the various concerned government authorities among which Public Authority for Industry, Environment Public Authority, Ministry of Electricity and Water and Kuwait Municipality to take the required approvals, indicating the corporation will also examine the soil and conduct topographic survey through specialized consultants to meet all environmental stipulations allotted in this regard.He further clarified that an elaborate feasibility study will be conducted later on regarding the industries and services which will be available in this petroleum industrial zone; besides identifying the local companies that will invest there. He added that the study will also clarify the added value expected from establishing such industrial area as the number and kind of job vacancies which will be available for the national personnel.
Al-Omair: 10 sq. km allotted in south Kuwait to establish petroelum industrial zone
5May 2015 Issue 40
6May 2015 Issue 40
Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Nizar Al-Adsani emphasized that the decline of oil prices caused a shortage in monetary fluidity and revenues; the matter cre-ated a serious threat against the implementation of gigantic projects all over the world.In his speech during Kuwait 3rd Enterprise Risk Management Conference which was held from 29-31 March, 2015, Al-Adsani said the demand on oil will keep increasing coincidently with the tangible improvement of man’s standard of living in the world. Yet, the technological progress will form a pressure to search other natural resources on top of which shale oil which will change the map of international energy besides destabilizing markets.“The increasing rate of risk and challenges which
impede oil industry makes markets unstable par-ticularly the shortage of experiences and experts as well as hackers of the internet,” he added, in-dicating the technology of information manage-ment has become essential in such industry par-ticularly during emergencies which need to take accurate decisions fast.He went on to say that the percentage of risks in-creases particularly while managing capitalistic projects in an environment full of challenges and under the absence of certainty. This necessitates taking hard decisions.He added saying that the world is full of inci-dents that influence industry; thus, cooperation is considered the m major element of confronting the future challenges which impede industry.“We expect Risk Management Department will help us create a high-quality administrative sys-tem copes with the 2030 strategic goals which are aimed to establish efficient abilities in several fields among which governance, human resourc-es and technology.”He further hoped the conference to provide true opportunities to exchange experiences in such field, stressing that he believes that the winners in the future are those who are able to manage risk efficiently. He added that KPC and its subsidiar-ies are achieving progress in this domain.For his part, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Interna-tional (KPI) Bakhit Al-Rasheedi hailed the infi-nite support which KPC provides to the initia-tives of risk management particularly under the current unstable position of oil industry and its prices internationally. He stressed that the con-ference was held in a time the Kuwaiti oil sector is witnessing the implementation of a number of huge strategic projects which are aimed to rein-force investment in various fields.
International Marketing Sector at Kuwait Petro-leum Corporation issued recently a statement in which it clarified that it has taken important steps to reinforce the status of the State of Kuwait as a key oil supplier in the world. It added that the sector accordingly signed a number of strate-gic contracts among which a contract with one of the biggest Chinese refineries to refine about 300,000 bpd for 10 years started last year 2014; in addition to renewing a contract with one of the biggest Korean companies to provide it with 200,000 bpd for10 years.It clarified that these contracts will be imple-mented as per the C & F system which allows KPC to use its new fleet to transport the Kuwaiti oil products to the Korean companies; the matter helps augment the financial return for ten years.The statement also made clear that the sector managed to gain an opportunity to market its products in the Philippines after signing a new contract to provide it with 75,000 bpd. In addi-tion, the sector managed also to get back its con-tract with one of the oil giant companies through increasing its quantity by 200,000 bpd, indicat-ing that this contract relation with that company helped it penetrate the New Zealand’s oil market through signing a contract in this domain.The statement clarified that these distinguished contracts were signed in a time the international oil market was witnessing a wild competition to gain any opportunity particularly under the in-crease of supply from the shale oil; besides the quantities of traditional oil which entered the
market through Iran, Iraq and Russia.It further said that the sector did not only suc-ceed in increasing Kuwait’s quota in the Asian east, but it also managed to open a market in the Mediterranean Sea for the Kuwaiti crude oil after succeeding in chartering tanks in Sidi Kerir port in Egypt to store about 2 million barrels of oil. It also succeeded in establishing strong relations with all consumers of this area. The sector man-aged to achieve similar success with the Ameri-can market.For his part, Nasser Al-Mudhaf, Managing Direc-tor of International Marketing Sector, said KPC managed to renew crude oil contracts with US Valero Co for the year 2015 with cost estimated at $2.5 billion, adding the new contracts include a hike about 17% compared to last year.
International Marketing Sector penetrates new profitable markets
Nasser Al-Mudhaf-Managing Director of International
Marketing Sector at KPC
7May 2015 Issue 40
8May 2015 Issue 40
Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Oil Company Mr. Hashim Hashim announced exploring 4 new oilfields and 2 reservoirs in north and west of Kuwait, stress-ing such new exploration will reinforce the status of Kuwait as one of the key oil producers internationally.
Indicating these new achievements are result of ex-ploration operations carried out by the company in the past two years, Hashim said that the company man-aged efficiently to continue its business despite the challenges which impeded its work last year particu-larly the sharp decline of oil prices which lost half of its price.
He added these new explorations will add a new size for the oil reserve in the areas located in west of Ku-wait, as the results of the primary examinations have confirmed the ability of producing more light oil and
gas, pointing out that these new explorations are lo-cated in the north of Manageesh oilfield particularly in Kabad, Umm Al-Rous and Riksa. In addition, new untraditional reservoirs have been explored in the oil-fields of Al-Rawdhatain and Umm Al-Naqa.
He disclosed that the light oil of high quality ‘41 API’ has been explored for the first time in Al-Rawdhatain oilfield in north Kuwait through the exploration well RA-484 RW2 which is distinguished with high pres-sure and the difficulty of drilling and development.
As for the other explorations, Hashim said there is another promising exploration in Fares reservoir in Umm Al-Naqa oilfield which is distinguished with huge quantities of heavy oil ’18 API’; however, these quantities can possibly be developed through tradi-tional ways.
He further added that light oil – 40 API - has been also explored in Ratawi area, indicating the primary oil reservoirs refer that there are huge commercial quantities which have a strategic dimension are avail-able in area.
Hashim emphasized that such big quantities will help increase the Kuwaiti oil reserve and enable the State of Kuwait to keep producing crude oil for coming de-cades as well as moving steadily towards the 2030 strategic goals of the company; besides reinforcing the status of Kuwait internationally as one of the key oil producers. This will also help the country meet the domestic consumption of energy.
Hashim Hashim: 4 oilfields, 2 reservoirs explored
Hashim HashimChief Executive Officer of KOC
8May 2015 Issue 40
9May 2015 Issue 40
Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait National Pe-troleum Company Mohammed Ghazi Al-Mutairi announced that 18% of the Clean Fuel Project has been accomplished, adding the company is follow-ing up the project monthly to assess its progress.
He added on the sideline of Kuwait International HSE Conference and Exhibition, which was re-cently held in Kuwait, that CFP is considered one of the biggest projects which are implemented by the Kuwaiti oil sector, adding the company is al-lotting the designs of the three parcels of the proj-ect. He expected that 90% of these designs will be achieved in July and October, 2015, adding the ac-tual work on the project will then start and this will be followed by the phase of construction.
He added that the cornerstone of the project will be soon placed after getting the required approv-als from the concerned authorities, clarifying that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation will finance 30% of the project; whereas, the remaining percentage will be financed by external authorities.
He went on to say that the total cost of the project is estimated at KD4.3 billion, indicating that the available sums of money in Kuwait are reason-able but the external finance is necessary due to the hugeness of the project. However, the concerned consultant of the project is still studying the major financers from the government institutions.
As for Al-Zour refinery, Al-Mutairi pointed out that the company got the results of the fourth and fifth par-cel of the project; in addition, it is waiting for the first, second and third parcels of the project, hoping the contracts are suitable for the budget and contractors.
For his part, CEO of Equate Petrochemical Co Mohammed Hussein said that the price of the gas
which the company uses is not cheap as it is more expensive than its counterpart in USA and some neighboring GCC countries.
He added the company will search for alternatives in case the price of naphtha increases, indicating the current phase has witnessed a state of instabil-ity in the oil markets internationally.
With regard to the reflections of the oil prices de-cline on the petrochemical sector, Hussein said oil was not connected adherently with petrochemicals in the past but it has become clear that there is a rel-evant relation between the two sectors in the past phase as the decline of oil prices led to declining the price of petrochemicals by 28%. However, the State of Kuwait is ready to produce huge quanti-ties of petrochemicals; therefore, it is necessary to allot an obvious strategy in this respect.
Mohammed Ghazi Al-Mutairi: 70% of CFP is financed by foreign authorities
Mohammed Ghazi Al-MutairiChief Executive Officer of KNPC
9May 2015 Issue 40
10May 2015 Issue 40
As’ad Al-Saad: ‘Al-Mobader’ is intellectual incubator for innovations of Kuwaiti youth
Chief Executive Officer of Petrochemical Industries Com-pany (PIC) As’ad Al-Saad announced the company spon-sors the national project of supporting youth projects which has been recently launched under the slogan of ‘Al-Mobad-er’ to epitomize the actual partnership between the oil sec-tor, the local organizations and the institutions of the civil society to support the small and middle projects.Al-Saad added during a press conference held to sign the convention of sponsoring exclusively this national project, which is launched for the third time respectively, that the company sponsors such important project in collaboration with Equate Company to convert it into an integrated proj-ect to reflect the constructive cooperation among the vari-ous systems and authority of the country. This is aimed to help the creative youth achieve their dreams.Al-Saad clarified that such initiative is in line with the com-pany’s goals and the directions of HH the Amir to provide the most appropriate ways of supporting the Kuwaiti youth
who is considered the most important prop of sustainabil-ity, emphasizing PIC is used to sponsoring such initiatives which are among the social responsibility which the oil sec-tor shoulders in collaboration with the various institutions of the civil society.He confirmed that the success of any institution is not only measured by its financial profit but it is assessed also by its participation in achieving development and progress in its society, indicating such sponsoring for this national project reflects the actual concern which PIC and its affiliated com-pany pay for the Kuwaiti society.For his part, Chief Executive Officer of Equate Petrochemi-cals Co Eng. Mohammed Hussein said ‘Al-Mobader’ proj-ect is aimed to provide a creative environment for youth to enable them to present their innovations, ideas and projects. He indicated that the project this year will focus on the in-dustrial side, stressing that the technical personnel are con-sidered the key constituent of building the economy of any country. He added Kuwait needs such element to open new horizons because the Kuwaiti economy has almost only one resource epitomized in oil, hoping the projects of youth to take part in developing the national economy.Meanwhile, Executive Chairperson of the National Project for Supporting Youth Abrar Al-Masoud said the idea of the project appeared after noticing the serious need of provid-ing a proper environment for youth to present their poten-tial energies. She indicated that Kuwait depends on its oil; the matter is considered a challenge for the Kuwaiti youth who is keen on changing such fact by achieving progress in various fields to vary the resources of the national income. She further added that the project is in liaison with the directions of HH the Amir after he met with the mem-bers of the project and entrepreneurs who won the first positions in the second season of the project. In addi-tion, it is also in line with the Amiri vision which is aimed to convert Kuwait into an international financial and commercial hub.
As’ad Al-SaadChief Executive Officer of PIC
10May 2015 Issue 40
11May 2015 Issue 40
Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid: “KOTC” launches new Liquefied Gas Filling Plant in Umm El-Aish
Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) announced that the total cost of the new Liquefied Gas Filling Plant in Umm El-Aish area in north of Kuwait amounted to about 54 million Kuwaiti dinars.KOTC, in a press release, explained that the new Lique-fied Gas Filling Plant was built on an area of 150 thou-sand square meters with a capacity of 15 million cylin-ders per year, which is equivalent to 160 per cent of the production capacity of the current plant (Shuaiba).It stated that the establishment of the plant comes in line with the implementation of the strategic plans of the company and KPC. It also pointed out that in late 2010; it has signed a contract with the Korean Hanwha Company for establishing the plant in Umm El-Aish area. Its purpose is to find a strategic alternative to the cur-rent plant, and increase productivity and storage capacity of the liquefied oil gas; and to meet needs of the local market resulting from the steady increase in the population of the State of Kuwait.The company stated that, since that time, a Kuwaiti team of qualified engineers from the sons of the company directly su-pervised the design and construction of the project. They used up-to-date technology in the field of Liquefied oil gas industry to achieve the highest engineering specifications, and to fol-low the international conditions and standards for establish-ing an integrated plant that can include strategic inventories of liquefied gas, along with advanced production lines and workshops for maintenance; and administrative buildings and a fleet for transporting gas. KOTC cleared that the total pro-duction capacity of the two factories, following the operation of the new plant, have become sufficient to meet the needs of the local market until 2030, after strategic inventories of liquefied natural gas of the country have been doubled. The company indicated, in its statement, that Umm El-Aish’s new plant would meet the needs of the northern region of Ku-wait and new cities in the frame of physical expansion in the northern regions of Kuwait in line with the housing plan of Public Authority for Housing Welfare. It emphasized that this project uses the latest technology in filling cylinders of lique-
fied gas, where a new technology (Flex Speed) will be used in filling centers to control the productive capacity of filling cen-ters by increasing or decreasing the speed of production centers to cope with the liquefied gas demand in the local market.For his part, Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, Oil Sector’s Spokesman and Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) said, “Kuwait Petroleum Cor-poration and its subsidiaries broke up an offensive elec-tronic attack named “Trojan.Laziok” that aimed to hacking information and endangering oil sector’s computer devic-es, stressing that the sector firmly faces such threats.Al-Khalid added that the oil sector in Kuwait regularly takes precautionary measures to repel any electronic attack. He stressed that the sector measures in this field formed a strong barrier against deliberate hackers’ attacks to hack the subsidiar-ies data, and that the oil sector has taken necessary measures for more than a year; through constituting specialized commit-tees to confront such threats.
Sheikh Talal Al-SabahChief Executive Officer of KOTC
11May 2015 Issue 40
12May 2015 Issue 40
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah: KUFPEC to produce 200,000 bpd in the coming five years
CEO of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah stressed that the company currently fo-cuses on projects of strategic dimensions, which include production and exploration on the long run. On the sidelines of his participation in Third Kuwait Oil & Gas Conference, Sheikh Nawaf said, “There is a strategic bond between the company and KPC.” He added, “We are very focused on the investments in the projects that facilitate produc-tion, exploration and bringing modern technology to Kuwait so KPC’s subsidiaries can take advantage of.Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah explained that the average rate of the cur-rent production of the company reached 80 thousand barrels of oil equivalent; and it is expected to achieve a significant increase in production during the next few years with the beginning of the actual production of the company’s investments in both Australia and Canada. He indicated that the steps taken by the company make in the edge of achieving the strategic goal, which is produc-ing 200 thousand barrels of oil over the next five years.Sheikh Nawaf said that KUFPEC does not strive for small projects
that produce one or five thousand barrels per day, instead it goes be-yond that to a strategic dimension projects that result in production suitable for future great explorations, explaining that the market faces significant challenges most important of which the severe competi-tion on the proposed projects. He added that these challenges include Scarceness of specialized labor including engineers and technicians, a matter that made the company to increase the number of Kuwaitis and provide opportunity to Kuwaiti Manpower in the company’s offices inside and outside Kuwait, and to promote them to leading positions. Al-Sabah added that KUFPEC has been working only on profitability since its inception in 1982, and with the normal development, the company has become a strategic weight within the totality of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as a contributor to the achievement of its strategy.Sheikh Nawaf revealed that the company has succeeded in building a strong and well-developed relationship with local and international banks, a matter that allows the company to take loans up to $ 3.5 billion, in addition to the capital increase that was achieved in 2013, which added another $ 3.5 billion to the company to help it meet 2020 strategy.Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah stated that the capital cost explosion in the last business cycle was unprecedented matter in oil industry, a matter that disturbed the Services Sector in particular during the last period, and pushed the sector to the extent of developing high-quality assets. He added that at the disappearance of the shock of this new price en-vironment, the value chain for of exploration and production will get doubled starting from host governments and national oil companies, and ending to international oil companies and oil services companies, which all have to meet to determine the tremendous opportunities of-fered by this new formula. He added that oil industry should be aware that the collapse of the prices is caused by the decline in demand from consumers who face economic challenges similar to that of the in-crease of supply.Sheikh Nawaf said that with the decline of increases in sup-ply under the new price formula, the company expects that the demand will actually increase in consuming countries to absorb the excess production in the market in the present time.
Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-SabahChief Executive Officer of KUFPEC
12May 2015 Issue 40
13May 2015 Issue 40
OPEC Secretary-General said that the Member States of OPEC should not reduce production in order to support a higher -priced shale oil, which is one of energy sources. He stated that the Member States of the OPEC believe that the late increase in its produc-tion is the reason behind the weakness of oil mar-kets, adding that shale oil is not a challenge to OPEC; therefore, the market should be left to decide which source of oil could continue at the current prices.
Al-Badri indicated that OPEC welcomes shale oil, but as a source of energy that costs more than its pro-duction, adding that you cannot produce it at $ 70-80 or $ 90, but it needs more than $ 100 to produce it and get its profits.
He added that OPEC could not support the price of another source of energy and it cannot continue to cut production each time. He added that the produc-ers inside and outside OPEC have to decide to work together to stabilize the markets, pointing out that the abundant supply could reach up to two million barrels per day. He added that since 2008, supplies from outside OPEC have increased to about six mil-lion barrels per day, while OPEC production has re-mained almost at 30 million barrels per day.
Al-Badri pointed out that the oil markets will recov-er their balance in the second half of 2015. He ex-plained that he does not believe that the fundamental factors justify the setback in market prices, and that
oil still has tremendous opportunities despite the re-cent volatility and uncertainty in the crude oil market, adding that the sector’s long- term expectations are still strong.
For his part, Kuwaiti Oil Minister and State Minis-ter for National Assembly Affairs Dr. Ali Al-Omair stated the price of oil barrel will stabilize at a price ranging between $ 50 and $ 60, pointing out that the outlook for the price of oil barrel in 2015 indicates that it may improve or at least stabilize at 50 to $ 60.
It is worth mentioning that oil prices have sharply fallen in recent months due to a large increase in sup-ply caused by the increase in US shale oil production and the poor global demand. The fast decline caused many troubles to some small crude oil producers and forced oil companies to reduce the budgets.
Abdullah Al-Badri: Oil market to recover its balance in second half of 2015
Abdullah Al-BadriSecretary-General of OPEC
13May 2015 Issue 40
14May 2015 Issue 40
Abbas Al-Naqi: OAPEC closely follow up negotiations of UNCCC
Secretary-General of OAPEC Abbas Al-Naqi expected the demand on primary energy will increase by 60% by 2040, adding the reports conducted on energy refer to an expected increase between 2010 and 2040. In addition, the fossil fuel which represents over 80% of the gross demand on energy in the world will remain the major source of energy for several coming decades.
He emphasized that all expectations confirm that the Middle East and North Africa will remain playing a key role in the international crude oil trade, indicating that there is a big possibility to reinforce the mechanism of controlling pollution in all activities of oil industry.
With reference to oil industry and environment as well as his participation in Kuwait International HSE confer-ence, Al-Naqi confirmed that OAPEC member countries support all ways and procedures taken to trim down and control harmful emissions and control casualties in all energy utilities and installations. Accordingly, OAPEC supports all attempts of searching for new mechanisms which are aimed to develop the technologies of energy efficiency. In addition, it is keen on bolstering the ways of international cooperation to protect environment.
He further added that some member countries seek to enter projects of collecting and storing carbon, indi-cating that there are 75 projects all over the world in this regard; 17 of which are carried out in the devel-oping countries.
With regard to the negotiations of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, he pointed out that all OAPEC member countries, which are already part of UNCCC, are shouldering an important role through such negotiations to defend their interests and control harmful emission to protect environment.
He clarified that they coordinate with the member coun-tries and the members of the Arab League, GCC coun-tries and OPEC member countries, emphasizing that OAPEC follows up closely the new developments of the negotiations conducted on climate change. In addition, it considers at the same time the general principles and common responsibilities which are aimed to achieve sustainable development as per the national priorities by the developing countries.
Abbas Al-NaqiSecretary-General of OAPEC
Apology
Alnaft Newsletter extends its apology for the unintentional mistake mentioned in the news of the former issue no 39 regarding the title of Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Abdullah Al-Terki, former Secretary-General of OAPEC.
14May 2015 Issue 40
15May 2015 Issue 40
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15May 2015 Issue 40
16May 2015 Issue 40
OilOccasion
Minister of Oil and State Minister for Parliament Affairs, HE Dr. Ali Saleh Al-Omair headed the Ku-waiti side during the discussions; whereas the Rus-sian side was headed by HE Alexander Galuška, Ministry of Development of Russian Far East.
The two sides began the work of the session by emphasizing the sincere desire of the political leadership in the two countries to further develop relations, and their willingness to provide broader horizons for cooperation in order to achieve the
common interest in all fields. During the talks, the Russian side praised the achievements of the com-mittee during the past period, and its role in bolster-ing ways of mutual cooperation on both the gov-ernmental and private levels, stressing the common interests between the two countries in all fields. In the agreement, the two sides have agreed on the fol-lowing:
First: Commercial, economic, investment and fi-nancial cooperation:
The joint committee for economic, commercial, scientific and technical cooperation between the State of Kuwait and the Russian Federation held its fourth term in the State of Kuwait from 17-19 March, 2015 in an aim to re-inforce the mutual cooperation between the State of Ku-wait and Russian Federation particularly in oil and gas field as per the convention of forming such committee which was signed on November 21, 1994.
Marvelous results achieved by Kuwaiti-Russian joint cooperation committee
16May 2015 Issue 40
17May 2015 Issue 40
Al-Omair: We look forward to benefiting
from Russian huge capabili-
ties in oil in-dustry
17May 2015 Issue 40
18May 2015 Issue 40
Kuwait, Russia prioritize constructive collaboration in energy field
• The two sides agreed on the importance of increasing the volume of trade in line with the economic capacities and the lev-el of relations between the two countries through the utilization of the available mechanisms to achieve this goal.
• The two sides agreed to encourage the exchange of visits of trade delegations between the Kuwaiti and Russian gov-ernment agencies and private sector.
• The two sides stressed the importance of encour-aging participation in international trade fairs held between the two countries, and acquainting each party with the available commercial and invest-ment opportunities.
• The Russian side called the Kuwaiti side to partic-ipate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum which will be held in the city of St. Peters-burg from 18-20 June, 2015. In addition, it invited it to participate in International Industrial Exhibition, which will be held in Siberia from 8-11 July, 2015, and to also participate in the Eastern Economic Fo-rum Russia, which is scheduled to be held between August 13 and 15 August, 2015. Within the same framework, the Kuwaiti side called the Russian side to participate in the First Kuwait International Fair, which will be held in Kuwait City during the period February 21 to February 27, 2016.
• The two sides discussed ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation through diversification of ex-port and import transactions between the two coun-tries, and promoting the exchange of information
and economic and commercial expertise.
• The two sides stressed the encouragement of eco-nomic cooperation through the implementation of economic and technical cooperation agreement signed between the two countries, and coordination and consultation regarding the economic policies in international economic forum.
• The two sides emphasized the necessity of encour-aging the economic cooperation in the investment and financial field; in addition to developing the economic and investment relations through follow-ing up the implementation of the convention which bans dual taxation and the convention of protecting mutual investments between the two countries.
• The Russian side presided information to the Ku-waiti side regarding the Nikomag Strategic Develop-ment Plan and the Electronics Crocus Nano projects.
Secondly: Cooperation in oil, gas and energy field
• The two sides tackled the ways of bolstering col-laboration in energy field particularly in gas and alternative resource of energy.
OilOccasion
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Implementing joint conventions is the way to bolster economic collaboration between the two countries
• They stressed the importance of reinforcing mu-tual cooperation in investment and conveyed de-veloped technology.
• They tackled the possibility of providing support among the frames of the organizations and forums which are in charge of energy for the good of the two countries.
• The The Kuwaiti side expressed its concern over the Russian companies’ participation in the oil and gas projects in the State of Kuwait; besides provid-ing services and technical support as per the proce-dures applied in the Kuwaiti oil sector.
• They tackled also the possibility of sharing the Russian companies in projects of generating en-ergy in the State of Kuwait.
• They discussed the ways of bolstering coopera-tion between the two countries in Russia Invest-ment Fund.
• KUFPEC said it is ready to study any proposal
submitted by the Russian side to carry out joint projects in exploration, oil and gas production in-side Russia and other countries.
Thirdly: Cooperation in scientific, technological and cultural field
• The Kuwaiti side expressed its desire to sign a memo of understanding regarding the mutual col-laboration in the scientific field with Topchiev In-stitute of Petrochemical Synthesis through the dip-lomatic channels.
• The Russian side stressed the necessity of invit-ing the scientific and educational institutions to ex-change directly cooperation for the good of both sides.
• The Russian side invited the Kuwaiti scientific and educational institutions to take part in Inter-national Moscow Education Exhibition which was scheduled to be held in April, 2015. It invited the Kuwaiti side to take part in the scientific forum which is scheduled to be held in Moscow in Octo-
OilOccasion
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Russian compa-nies participate
effectively in Kuwaiti proj-
ects of gener-ating energy
ber, 2015; in addition, the Kuwaiti side welcomed the invitation.
• The Russian side represented by Engineering Center which is affiliated to Nuclear Scientific Research University in Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute proposed studying the possibility of developing mutual cooperation in creative engi-neering field.
For his part, Dr. Ali Al-Omair declared at the end of the discussions that the State of Kuwait signed three conventions of joint cooperation in oil, in-vestment and technology with the Russian side.
He added that the State of Kuwait is looking for-ward to benefiting from all international experienc-es; in addition, the Russian Federation possesses huge technical efficiencies that are useful for the State of Kuwait. He indicated that the bilateral dis-cussions focused on how to activate joint collabo-ration in achieving development projects in Kuwait such as railway, roads and infrastructures which
Kuwait has allotted in its development plan.
He further stressed that the discussions conducted with the Russian side are very important, stressing the mutual cooperation between the two sides will be positively reflected on the mutual executive pro-grams between the two countries.
It is noteworthy that the two sides agreed at holding the fifth term of the committee in Russia after coor-dinating with the concerned diplomatic authorities.
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2nd GCC Petroleum Media Forum
Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources host-ed 2nd GCC Petroleum Media Forum which was held under the slogan “Gulf Petroleum Media ... Cases and Challenges” from 22-25 March, 2015. The 3-day forum was held in Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh in the presence of large number of GCC oil ministers on top of them the Kuwaiti Minister of Oil, State Minister of Parliament Affairs Dr. Ali Saleh Al-Omair, who headed the Kuwaiti delegation in the forum; besides a large number of academics and media practitioners who are specialized in petroleum media.In his inaugural speech, Eng. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, the Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stressed the importance of the media mes-sage in the oil field particularly in Gulf communities and institutions.
Held under auspices of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz
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step to achieve hopes and ambitionsIn the opening ceremony of the forum, Eng. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Min-eral Resources, gave a speech in which he stated that within the implementation of GCC countries’ strategic objectives of oil media, adopted by the Council leaders, the forum highlights the impor-tance of the media message in the oil field in Gulf communities and institutions.He said, “We seek to promote and propose the vi-sion of GCC countries and their oil policies in the different international media institutions, and to clarify their positions.” He added “to ensure the continuation of this meeting of ministries of petro-leum and oil national companies in GCC countries, it may be the right time to put forward the idea of creating specialized association for petroleum me-dia that can include Gulf and Arab media men who
are specialized in energy matters.” Eng. Al-Naimi affirmed that in case of agreement on the establishment of the association, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is ready to support this establishment in order to contribute to increasing the transparency of Gulf countries, and making petroleum policies for GCC countries of Arab Gulf countries. Al-Naim, in his speech, referred to the decision of OPEC to maintain the production ceiling, say-ing “There is no conspiracy behind OPEC’s deci-sion made last November to keep its oil production stable without change; and that we tried to correct all reiterating matters about OPEC’s decision, but to no avail or listening ears. We are not against anyone, instead we stand for all those who want to maintain stability for the market and the balance between supply and demand; and that the price is
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determined by the market. Al-Naim stated that the kingdom pumps around ten million barrels of oil per day, and that it is ready to meet more demand if customers so desired, but the kingdom does not have any plans at the present time to increase the current production capacity to more than 12.5 mil-lion barrels per day.Following the opening session, there held a min-isterial seminar on Gulf Petroleum media work in which GCC ministers of Petroleum and Energy par-ticipated. The seminar included several axes that re-volved on petroleum media such as the role of me-dia as a drive for oil market, rumors and conspiracy theories, and the lack of influential petroleum me-dia in Gulf countries, along with the ways of im-provement and finally came the axis of the impact of technological developments on the field of media and on the understanding of petroleum industry.At the beginning of the seminar, HE Kuwaiti min-ister of Energy Ali Saleh Al-Omair explained that
some analyses and statements made by media di-rectly affect the economics and policies and all pro-fessions. He referred that Gulf States live in a spot of land blessed with great wealth, and as they are oil-producing countries, they bear the cost of im-proving prices. Al-Omair confirmed that the petro-leum media today has become very influential; ex-pressing his delight with what Eng. Al-Naim stated concerning the establishment of specialized associ-ation in this regard, pointing out that each success-ful case should be distinguishably served by media.For his part, Qatari Minister of Energy Dr. Moham-med Bin Saleh Al-Sada stated that petroleum media might affect Decision-Making, especially if the me-dia source is of a high credibility; hinting that there is an urgent need for a petroleum media that can serve both the consumer and the product. Al-Sada praised the initiative of Saudi Oil Minister to create specialized association in Media Petroleum, stress-ing that the media of GCC countries is eligible to
Petroleum Media Society is Saudi pioneering idea
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unveil the voice of the Gulf countries to the whole world.In the same regard, Bahraini Minister of Energy Dr. Abdul Hussain Bin Ali Mirza said, “We have smart and specialized cadres but they are very few, and the blame lies on both sides: the side of those in charge of energy industry and the side of media and journalists as well”. He urged journalists in oil and gas fields to correctly spread news or they should go back to the source if they are unsure of their news; pointing out that future idea will include appointing media spokesperson in each ministry of oil and gas. Bahraini Minister made clear that everyone is no-ticing that any minister of energy when speaking or stating, each word has a meaning. He attentive-ly speaks expecting journalists to correctly catch words rather than to generalize them in his/her own way due to lack of knowledge of oil industry tech-niques.For his part, UAE Minister Suhail Al Mazroui said that Gulf countries have a highly experienced advi-
sory houses in the oil field that can be taken advan-tage of to improve the broadcast media Petroleum. Al Mazrui stressed the importance of petroleum media to compete with western petroleum media and to depend on national competencies qualified to impact and guide. He expressed his hope that the Third Media Petroleum Conference, hosted by his country in 2017, could draw media specialists’ due attention.Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at GCC General Secretariat Mr. Abdullah Al-Shib-li concluded the ministerial seminar by giving a speech in which he explained that GCC states seek to build credibility and daily correct information, stressing that the forum is the core to prepare spe-cialized journalists in fields of Petroleum and Min-eral Resources who can derive information from original sources.Following the ministerial seminar, Minister of Pe-troleum and Mineral Resources Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi honored specialized Gulf petroleum media
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men, led by Mr. Kamel Al Harami from the State of Kuwait and the companies sponsoring the forum. Then, he opened, with the participation of GCC Ministers of Petroleum and Energy, OPEC’s Sec-retary General Abdullah Al-Badri, OAPEC’s Secre-tary General Mr. Abbas Ali Naqi, and Director Gen-eral of OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Mr. Suleiman Bin Jasser Herbish, Forum accompanying exhibition.
First Day In the presence of more than sixty journalists and with the participation of a group of prominent spe-cialists in petroleum and energy affairs, a series of workshops held in which several worksheets were presented. On top of which came the worksheet presented by Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi, Saudi Ara-bia’s governor to OPEC entitled (Petroleum Market and Specialized International and Regional Orga-nizations in Oil and Energy). He reviewed, in this worksheet, several points starting from the impor-tance of oil, pointing out that it is pivotal part in modern life as it is the most important energy re-source in the world. In addition, it is the most im-portant fuel used for transportation purposes in the world, homes heating; in addition to several things that people daily use, which directly depend on oil or its derivatives.Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi stated that the world’s need to oil is regularly rising due to the increase in
population and the acceleration of pace of econom-ic growth and prosperity in the world. He indicated that the coming days will hold a lot of variables in the march of human progress in the light of the in-crease in per capita income in China and India, the largest increase in the standard of living in the his-tory of humanity.Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi clarified that most of the oil global demand in the future will be concentrat-ed in developing countries, such as China, India, Russia and Brazil; a matter that requires providing adequate supplies of this vital material. It also re-quires investing capitals, time, and technology in light of estimates, which refer to the need for in-vestments of around 40 trillion dollars over the next two decades. He affirmed that most analysts agree on the increase of population in the world to reach 9 billion in the next two decades, compared with 7 billion people now, a matter that will necessarily lead to increase in global energy demand by a third, returning back to economic growth and the growth of trade between countries.Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi stressed the importance of international organizations of energy, such as Inter-national Energy Agency (IEA), International Ener-gy Forum (IEF), and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); stressing that its sig-nificance comes clear when it provides a common platform for representatives of different countries
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including consumers and exporters to discuss and find solutions for emerging topics. In addition, these organizations study and analyze information, a mat-ter that leads to energy universal laws approved by all concerned countries.Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor reviewed the effec-tiveness of the Organization of Petroleum Export-ing Countries (OPEC), which depends on several internal factors, such as the members’ commitment with quotas and harmony between member states’ policies, and external factors of supply and demand.Regarding the impact of OPEC on oil markets, Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi, Saudi Arabia’s gover-nor to OPEC explained that there were divergent views regarding the impact of OPEC on oil prices. As there are those who choose the limited effect of OPEC on prices and those who firmly believe that OPEC controls the price of oil while the fact, as he indicated, balances between these two matters. He also indicated that oil prices were in 1988 close to $ 10 a barrel, the matter that made many ana-lysts think that OPEC had lost its ability to defend prices. In addition, there were those who expected the death of OEC forever, stressing that OPEC held two price-cutting sessions to stop the deterioration of prices, and it applied a set of agreements with
great harmony between Member States to the ex-tent that shocked skeptics of OPEC’s ability to re-duce its production.Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi talked about the history of OPEC’s production cuts. He indicated that dating production decrease agreements, whether by Coun-tries of OPEC or by cooperation between OPEC’s countries and countries from outside OPEC, was not good, as there were about 19 attempts to re-duce production, out of which 13 attempts were by OPEC’s and 6 were by the cooperation between OPEC’s countries and countries from outside the OPEC. From among all 19 attempts, 16 attempts led to relatively reducing of production of OPEC, but eight attempts led to relative increase in prices. After Dr. Mohammed Al-Madi had ended his work-sheet, Dr. Nasser Hamidi Al-Dosari Economic Adviser to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia presented a worksheet entitled (Changes and Challenges in International Petroleum Industry) in which he dealt with three main issues, which explain the developments in international oil market, their impacting factors and the current challenges. The first issue revolved around (the fundamental factors affecting oil mar-ket), while the second issue revolved around (Sec-
International need for oil increases constantly with population
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ondary factors and their impacts on markets), the third issue revolved about (the role of Saudi Ara-bia in the international oil market). Regarding the latter, Dr. Nasser Hamidi Al-Dosari stated that the Kingdom has been the most important oil-produc-ing country since 1970. In addition, it is expected to hold this status over the next decades, as it pos-sesses the largest petroleum reserves in the world, which represents 22% of global reserves, pointing out that the Kingdom produces around 30 % of the total production of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil (OPEC), and 50% of the production of the Arab Gulf states.Al-Dosari stressed that the importance of the Kingdom not only lies in the volume of produc-tion but also in its petroleum policies that aim to maintain a balance of oil markets in light of the global variables. This can be achieved through cooperation with the producing and consuming countries, along with reducing the acute price fluctuations. He pointed out that the Kingdom managed to meet their goals of balancing mar-kets by investing in a surplus production capac-ity, and that the Kingdom is the only country in the world that has surplus production capacity, which enables it to provide supplies in case of
outages resulting from political changes or natu-ral disasters.Al-Dosari indicated that the Kingdom managed in the last few years to maintain the continuity of oil supplies flow in order to make up the shortage in the global supply, resulting from outages of supplies from several countries, most important of which is Libya. This matter led to the stability of oil prices by the range of $ 100 a barrel. In addition, King-dom’s steps contributed to reduce any negative im-pacts on the process of global economic recovery.Dr. Al-Dosari talked about oil markets, pointing out that they are variable markets in nature, where oil demand varies with countries’ consumption, growth of population, economic progress from an economic level to another. For example, in china, we noticed the large increase in the vol-ume of petroleum consumption during the begin-ning of the current decade in line with industrial development it witnessed. Dr. Al-Dosari indicat-ed that the petroleum supply and production are also variable, due to the advancement of technol-ogy in exploration and production operations. He added that the best example in this regard is the technological revolution that finally enabled the United States of producing large quantities of oil
It is necessary for GCC countries to cope with revolution of media technology
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and rock reservoirs that were not available in any other time. Regarding (How to be a media specialist in energy affairs?) Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Fayez, Editor in Chief of the Al Yaum Newspaper participated by present-ing a worksheet in which he outlined seven points of media excellence as follows:First: Fresh journalist should determine his/ her ca-reer; and determine the desire to be journalist spe-cialized in energy.Second: Building sources and data base for industry.Third: Attending courses, conferences and work-shops related to industry.Fourth: Collecting scientific sources, book refer-ences, books, periodicals… etc.Fifth: Communicating with specialists including journalists and researchers in oil industry.Sixth: Making friendships with officials and deci-sion-makers.Seventh: Building confidence with sources.
Second Day The second day of the forum’s activities witnessed the division of sessions into three sessions; The first session entitled (Media and Oil: Overview) chaired by Tunisian Mr. Mohammed Bin Faraj Editor in
chief of the Emirati Al Roya Newspaper in which Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al-Muhanna, Advisor to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia presented a worksheet entitled (Oil, media, and Gulf: Overview) in which he referred to the gradual development of Petroleum media, and summarized the importance of media in four big developments as follows:First: Future market means buying and selling on credit through screens or intermediaries inside ex-change markets in New York in just one minute or second. Hence, different means of media have been of a great importance to quickly spread news. Means of Oil Media mingled to each other to the extent that some petroleum Newsletters and research cen-ters have dealt with news as if they are News agen-cies that quickly spread news and information. The most important thing that has contributed to these progresses, in addition to market developments, the advancement of the means of communication start-ing from Fax to the Internet, and smartphones. In-ternational news agencies such as Reuters, Bloom-berg established specialized departments for oil and energy, along with appointing journalists and reporters dedicated to this regard. Therefore, the paramount objective for some people was the quick spread of news without regard to the accuracy, as those working in the market have been interested in
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rumors, conspiracy theories, and in the knowledge of the secret petroleum policies of countries.Second: The strong correlations between commer-cial and financial centers, where the global financial market starts the day from Tokyo (for oil from Sin-gapore), which sets global initial trends based on the close of New York market on the previous day and any important updates on the interval periods. The same trend continued in Asian markets, such as Hong Kong, New Delhi, Singapore and Dubai; For example, the approval of some speculators in Gulf markets to buy or sell in the local stock markets, according to the trend started from Tokyo, and then continued in Asia.Third: There is a strong correlation between com-modities important global currencies, where the oil prices affect the price trend for many commodities and metals. When the prices of some commodi-ties increase or decrease, they affect the oil prices, which, in turn, are linked to currency prices, espe-cially the dollar, where the decrease in dollar price leads to higher oil prices, and vice versa.Fourth: Developments and political and economic events, where it is generally admitted that the po-litical and economic events (including military ones) have a significant impact on the situations of all markets, including the oil market like (the actual interruption of production and supplies), or
the vulnerability of supply or demand as a result of these developments and events. The economic information, such as economic growth in important economic countries, the level of unemployment, or change in the factory’s productivity negatively or positively affects the price of oil. In terms of im-pact, this is as important as the way of spreading such information, and statements and interpreta-tions of analysts regarding these economic devel-opments and their effects on oil. All such matters are quickly spread by media means.Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al-Muhanna, in his worksheet, asked about the possibility of establish-ing Gulf petroleum media with an international role and importance, taking into account that research centers, specialists and experts are integrated parts of medial process. He replied that it is possible to create Gulf petroleum media subject to four condi-tions, which can be summarized as follows:1. Setting the purpose of creating this media, this is responsibility of the General Secretariat of Gulf Cooperation Councils. It is encouraged to exploit this media momentum this week, and to take the initiative to constitute study committee, whether this initiative is taken by the Council or indepen-dently.2. Qualifying human cadres of Gulf petroleum me-dia to be acquainted with oil and energy issues; it is
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possible to cooperate with the media departments in the Gulf universities, or with some specialized me-dia training centers like Prince Ahmed bin Salman Applied Media Academy.3. The independence of the news agencies and me-dia means, away from the governmental bureaucra-cy, or from any direct link to political developments and differences in the region, but it is aware of their belonging and importance to the Gulf region and the interests of their people, such as the American or British and others.4. Cooperation of government officials and oil com-panies with Gulf media to provide the initial infor-mation, interviews, subscriptions, advertisements and others.The second session was held under the title (Trans-parency and Information in the Gulf Petroleum Media) chaired by Yousef bin Ibrahim Mohaimeed, media expert at the Ministry of Petroleum and Min-eral Resources in Saudi Arabia in which Dr. Anwar Bin Mohammed Al Rawas, Head of Media Depart-ment of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in Sultanate of Oman presented a worksheet entitled (Transparency and Information in Gulf Petroleum Media) in which he referred to the concept of trans-
parency against the concept of corruption that has imposed itself on media and television networks. Al Rawas called the countries with their differ-ent systems to comprehensively review their eco-nomic and financial transactions with others. He indicated that concept of transparency in the media determines the way spreading information through various means and explains the reason of spread, pointing out that a transparent term can be applied through a set of points as follows: • Learning a lot about means of spreading informa-tion. • The availability of openly financing media pro-duction. • Defining Energy Journalism as a kind of special-ized press interested in providing news and infor-mation about the exploration, production and dis-tribution of energy with its various kinds and its political, economic, and environmental impacts on the social and human societies.To find an influential energy press, Al Rawas stressed the importance of establishing a special-ized press departments, and bolstering cooperation with the media and non-media institutions special-ized in the field of energy, as well as the integration
It is significant to have media practitioners specialized in oil cases
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of newspaper editors from different disciplines to cover the energy affairs and connect energy affairs with daily life of citizens through continuous analy-sis and coverage.The third session was held under the title (the role of conferences and seminars in promoting oil cul-ture), and chaired by Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al Baini, general supervisor of Department of Public Relation and Information - Saudi Arabia, and lec-tured by Dr. Rabeea Sabah Al Kuwari, head of the Department of Media at Arts and Sciences College in the State of Qatar. In this session, Al Kuwari pointed out to the importance of employing differ-ent media means in order to promote petroleum cul-ture within the community, and working to provide those means, particularly media means in the Gulf countries with the available information and statis-tics so that they can spread oil culture of petroleum in the Gulf states. He, also, stressed the importance of correcting the inaccurate information reiterated by different media means with regard to oil industry or policy in GCC countries.On the importance and the aim of Petroleum Media Forum, Al Kuwari stated that Gulf states
are desirous to have the greatest deliberative fo-rum regarding issues of petroleum media, and to spread the oil culture and contribute to the aware-ness of the countries and communities on the im-portance of such industry in addition to the ac-tivation of the forum’s recommendations for the sake of GCC countries.
Third DayOn the order of the second day, Third Day’s ses-sions were divided into three sessions. The first one was held under the title (The Image of Arabs and Oil in the Foreign Media), chaired by His Excellen-cy Mr. Abbas Ali Al-Naqi, OAPEC Secretary Gen-eral, and lectured by Director of Oil and the Middle East Programme of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies - United Kingdom- Bassam Fattouh. In this session, Fattouh referred to the geopolitical condi-tions that significantly affect oil prices, and the role played by the specialized media on prices, calling for the necessity of creating Gulf media specialized in energy affairs, a matter that lead to facing Euro-pean media, as well as the general challenges that face the Gulf states.
Increasing Gulf societies’ awareness tops the forum’s priorities
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The second session was held under the title (Re-habilitation of the Media In the fields Of Oil And Petroleum Culture In Gulf Countries And The Role Of Governments, Corporations, Universities And Media Means). It was headed by Sulaiman Bin Abdullah Elierbi, media specialist at Ministry of Oil and Gas - Sultanate of Oman, and lectured by Dr. Ramadan Al-Sharrah, Secretary General of Union of Investment Companies – Kuwait. In the session, Al-Sharrah pointed out that the work-sheet includes a call for awakening and aware-ness to educate the entire community on the im-portance of oil industry. He defined oil culture as “all available information about oil wealth which includes production, distribution, consumption, world trade, prices, oil needs and distributions, oil industry, techniques used in the various stages (Productivity - marketing - consuming), informa-tion related to investments in oil production or in the exploitation of its surpluses, the effects of the acquisition of oil wealth, the current challenges faced by producers and exporters, as well as infor-mation relating to the future of the oil industry and its role in pushing forward the wheel of produc-tion and contributing to the economic and social progress, whether in developing or industrialized
countries. He also stressed the importance of de-veloping an integrated programme for oil Culture within a general frame whose subjects and units should be determined separately in each educa-tional stage, so that each stage can be integrated with the next, with the necessity of examining the this programme by a group of specialists in the field of science and curricula, and by those spe-cialized in oil issues, to express opinion on the contents of the programme, the degree of its inte-gration, and its benefits to the students and to the whole society.As for the third session, it was held under the title (Oil and New Media). It was headed by Dr. Ab-dulrahman bin Hamoud Al Anad, Advisor and Su-pervisor of the researches and studies at ASBAR Centre for Media, Research and studies, KSA, and lectured by Dr. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Almaghlooth, Head of Public Relations at Saudi Aramco. In this session, Almaghlooth reviewed media vision con-cerning the performance of global companies in social networking sites, along with the content of this vision including comical criticism for actions of such companies, as well as the methods that should be followed by the Gulf states to address the local audience.
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Participants in Second GCC Petroleum Media Forum extend their warmest thanks to the Cus-todian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz - may God protect him – for his sponsorship of this forum under the slogan “Gulf Petroleum Media ... Cases and Challenges”. His Excellency Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources delivered a speech in which he welcomed the guests, put forth the idea of establishing an association for Petroleum media professionals, which was wel-comed by GCC Ministers of Petroleum and En-ergy. The Forum also discussed several related Petroleum media issues, which were presented in a seminar attended by ministers of oil and energy in the GCC countries, and a workshop present-ed by a group of oil and energy specialists, and was attended by one hundred and forty trainees in addition to six sessions divided into two days; lectures and sessions were titled as follows:- Petroleum market and specialized internation-al and regional organizations in oil and energy.
- Introduction to changes and challenges in the international oil industry. - How to be a media specialist in energy affairs? - Essentials and and the fundamentals of jour-nalistic writing and specialist media work.- Media in energy conservation in GCC countries. - Oil, media, and Gulf: Overview. - Transparency and information in the Gulf pe-troleum media. - The role of petroleum conferences and semi-nars in promoting oil culture. - The image of Arabs and oil in the foreign media. - Rehabilitation of the media in the fields of oil and petroleum culture in GCC countries and the role of governments, institutions, universities and media tools. - Oil and new media.After scientific discussions and dialogues that were predominated by the spirit of understanding, harmo-ny, clarity, and the sincere desire to implement this ambitious ideas, which aim to the development of pe-
The Concluding Statement & Recommendations
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troleum media in GCC countries, media delegations summed up to the following recommendations:1- Establishment of an independent association, under the name of “Petroleum Media Practitio-ners Society”, comprising Gulf, Arab and for-eign media men specialized in oil and energy af-fairs in the Gulf region.2 - Recommending for delivering an award, dedi-cated for outstanding workers in the petroleum me-dia, granted by the host country, during the open-ing ceremony of petroleum media forum, which is held every two years in one of GCC countries.3- Correcting the image of GCC countries in the international media, and highlighting the posi-tive role played by GCC countries towards the stability of oil market, and the provision of sup-plies in case of any sudden deficit, and contribu-tion to the growth of the global economy, par-ticularly economies of developing countries.4 - Holding local and Gulf workshops, and spe-cialized training courses in the field of petroleum media, whether through the ministries of oil and energy, or national oil companies, and special-ized journalism training institutes.5 - Urging written, listened and electronic media means in GCC countries to provide with the compe-tent and trained cadres in the field of oil and energy.
6 - Emphasizing the importance of organizing conferences and forums in the GCC, which focus on energy and petroleum affairs, and highlight-ing its medial media.7 - Urging oil and energy companies in the GCC countries to highlight their role in social respon-sibility, regarding petroleum and non-petroleum aspects including social, cultural and economic activities.8 - Preparing specialized petroleum media to cope with digital advancement and to spread the nature of oil industry in the GCC countries, and to ease handling oil issues to the society.9 - Providing petroleum media sources that can convey the available official media information, and to stop rumors and inaccurate information.10 - Strengthening the relationship between the ministries of oi and energy in GCC countries and the national oil companies on one hand, and between universities and scientific research cen-ters, on the other hand.11 - Expressing thanks to GCC’s General Secre-tariat for its efforts in preparing this forum, and for its role in the petroleum media strategy.12 - Expressing thanks to UAE for its initiative to organize 3rd GCC Petroleum Media Forum in the United Arab Emirates in 2017.
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Bakhit Al-Rashidi: 20,000 bpd of Kuwaiti crude oil to be refined by
Vietnam Refinery
Interview
Kuwait Petroleum International steps steadily to achieve KPC’ strategic directions which are aimed at bolstering the status of the corporation internationally in the oil industry. Accordingly, it has expanded its investment activities in petrol stations in Europe. In addition, it has moved to-wards the countries of East Asia, where the de-mand on oil is increasing, to open new markets for the Kuwaiti oil products. Moreover, it seeks diligently to bolster its presence through enter-ing a number of investment projects with coun-tries of East Asia such as Vietnam where KPC is carrying out the project of Vietnam Refinery.To throw light on the importance of Vietnam Re-finery project and its revenues for the Kuwaiti oil sector, Alnaft newsletter interviewed, Eng. Bakhit Al-Rashidi, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum International.
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Vietnam Refinery achieves integration be-tween refining and petrochemical activities
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• At the beginning, we would like to shed light on Vietnam Refinery ProjectVietnam project is a refinery for refining Kuwaiti crude oil in 100%, and its refining card amounts to 200 thousand barrels per day, with integration with a petrochemical plant. The project is located in Nelson, 200 kilometers south of the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, which is located in the northern part of Vietnam.• What is the strategic importance of the project for oil sector and Kuwait Petroleum International in particular and for the State of Kuwait in general?The project comes among the strategic objectives of KPC, which strives to achieve an added value to Kuwaiti crude oil, along with sustaining a con-tinuous production in the long run for about 200 thousand bpd of Kuwaiti crude oil. In addition, it bolsters the international oil relations of the State of Kuwait with the Republic of Vietnam and glob-al partners. The project also integrates refining and petrochemical activities, a matter that makes it a profitable project; and it boosts the coopera-tion with the global partners to minimize risks and ensure marketing fuel products in the Vietnamese market, which is one of the developing markets in Asia, and with a growing demand for petroleum products.• What is the desired benefit of this project at the local and international level?- Sustaining a continuous production for 200 thou-sand bpd of Kuwaiti crude oil in the long run.- Achieving profitable financial returns, and con-tributing to the economic development of the State of Kuwait.- Bolstering bilateral relations between Kuwait and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and paving the way for performing other investment projects.• Is Vietnam Refinery Project a part of Develop-ment Plan for the State of Kuwait? Is there an Inter-relation between the project and KPC’s plan made for development?
There is a significant interrelation between the proj-ect and the KPC’s plans to boost its international status in oil industry. Vietnam Refinery is one of the important projects included in the development plan. Moreover, it is one of the major projects imple-mented by the State of Kuwait abroad. The Refinery contributes to increasing the refining ability of KPC abroad, and achieving good financial returns to meet the strategic objectives of KPC for 2030 in particu-lar, and the state’s Development Plan in general.
38May 2015 Issue 40
39May 2015 Issue 40
• When will production begin in Vietnam Refinery?- According to the scheduled plan, it is expected to end construction works of the project and start trial operation in December 2016, but the actual opera-tion and commercial production will start in July 2017.• What does the opening of the third largest gas sta-tion in the world in Europe mean to you? Espe-cially in Luxembourg?The opening of the third largest gas station in the world in Europe is one of the most important achievements of Kuwait Petroleum International, especially in light of the challenges and severe competition among global companies in the Eu-ropean markets. In addition, the company’s taking over the third fuel station is one of the accomplish-ments that fall within the strategic plans of the KPC
that aim at the expansion in the European conti-nent, and facilitating merchandising of Kuwaiti oil products.• What are the desired benefits of establishing such station to Kuwait?There are many benefits for Kuwait Petroleum In-ternational, most important of which is strengthen-ing the competitive status of the company in the region and in Europe in general.• We would like to shed light on the new logo that officially declared in the station?Kuwait Petroleum International regularly presents a comprehensive field survey to the customers in order to identify the strengths or deficiencies in the services it provides, and at the same time to maintain the international reputation and status of company. Moreover, it always seeks to develop
Inaugurating the 3rd biggest pet-rol station in Europe essential
achievement for Q8
39May 2015 Issue 40
40May 2015 Issue 40
services to meet the changing needs of customers.In this regard, I would like to point out that the de-velopment of services is one of the priorities of the global companies; particularly, these companies rely on the ability to provide excellent services and marketing of petroleum products through ways that bring added values to their economy. Since Kuwait Petroleum International is not an excep-tion, instead, it works within the global system; it conducted a series of studies and researches on the changing impressions and needs of customers. These studies showed that the company’s trade-mark came within the traditional scale, and it did not keep pace with the global changes in the Eu-ropean markets in particular and in oil industry in general. In this behalf, the high management felt it was incumbent upon the company to update the company’s trademark by changing colors and font so that the logo can be more attractive to custom-ers. While, at the same time, the high management
were careful not to affect the idea of the historical trademark “Al Boom Sail “ as a sign of Kuwait’s history in the light of measures taken by the com-pany to keep the old customers and to attract new customers. In fact, changing logo is an important step towards achieving the objectives of Kuwait Petroleum International for strategic growth.• Are there any new projects the company plans for in the coming days, whether in Europe or any other country? Is the environmental side taken into con-sideration?The Company is currently reviewing and evaluat-ing investment opportunities in refining and mar-keting in Asia, such as Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. When we turn to the environmental side, it is known that Kuwait Petroleum International is one of the global petroleum companies in Europe that pay due care to environment which is one of the important bases in the assessment of invest-ment opportunities, whether in Europe or Asia.• We would like to identify the other services pro-vided by the company?Kuwait Petroleum International provides a variety of services, the most important of which can be re-ferred to as follows: - Fueling planes in more than 50 airports.- Specialized diesel stations fuel trucks.- Plants for lube oils and selling its products. • What does the European continent represent for Kuwait Petroleum International?- The European continent is the first place from which the company launched; therefore, it repre-sents the first home for the Kuwait Petroleum In-ternational. The company, through its work in Eu-rope, has gained many different experiences, and has been able to achieve great successes after it had become the economic, social and diplomatic pillar for KPC and the beloved state of Kuwait in Europe.• Is there a final word you would like to say?I thank Oil Magazine for this interview and I wish you all luck and prosperity.
European continent is first house for KPI
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41May 2015 Issue 40
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has confirmed obviously that it will not play alone the role of the predominant oil pro-ducer, as the decision of reducing the ceiling of production must include all non-OPEC members in a direct indication to Russia and other countries which produce high-cost oil. Although many OPEC members were not fully satisfied with the decision of keeping the same ceiling of production at the level of 30 million barrels per day which was taken in November 2014, all members are now totally convinced that the opinion of the minority was appropriate and correct. In addition, any decision aimed to reduce oil production must include all producing countries because it is not logical that these countries benefit from OPEC decisions in this regard without providing any sacrifices. In other words, it is not reasonable to let them gain more revenues and quotas in the international oil market; whereas OPEC loses its quotas and status in markets by reducing its production alone. We should accept the fact that oil prices will not improve in the near future, as they will remain at the current rates between $55 and $60 per barrel. Accordingly, the inter-national oil companies started allotting their budgets of future projects as per such prices. Oil prices need between three and five years to go up and stabilize; yet, they will not expectedly reach the lev-el of $100 per barrel in the current time, as it will take time. In addition, it does not serve the good of OPEC if prices pass over $70 per barrel because this will provoke the untraditional oil production. In fact, the message of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia be-comes clearer gradually, as it presented sacrifices through re-ducing its production as much as possible and deprived itself from gaining much financial revenues. The Saudi minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Na’eemi launched a message in which he says that OPEC coming meeting will be held in June 2015 and it will not take any decision regard-ing the reduction of production without getting the approval of non-OPEC members to reduce their production too. The Saudi message might include an implicit call to the member countries urging them to reduce their expen-
ditures and control any kind of depletion to be able to manage their obligations in their general budgets with prices less than the rate of $60 per barrel. In brief, oil prices will remain low until all producing countries de-cide unanimously to reduce their production. On the other hand, American Citi Bank, Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States of America, and British Petroleum (BP) company issued different reports regarding the future of OPEC. US Citi bank expected in its report that OPEC will collapse, considering it is no longer able to control affairs; in addi-tion, the strong disagreement at opinion among its members will lead to its collapse. Meanwhile, Greenspan perceived in his report, which was published in the British Financial Times daily, perceived that the role of OPEC in stabiliz-ing oil prices has terminated and it USA leads the oil mar-kets today. He added that the production of shale oil led also to collapsing the value of the Russian ruble, and it has weakened the financial position of OPEC member countries which may lend money from stock exchanges this year. BP perceived in its report that OPEC will recover and reach its climax by the end of 2030 to lead the oil markets again, as investment in shale oil in Russia, China and Ar-gentina will not succeed and the American experience will not be repeated. Thereof, the traditional oil will re-occupy its status internationally after the demand increases and thus production will reach expectedly over 32 million bar-rels per day which is the level achieved in 2007. Should we believe their opinions? Or, are there other viewpoints confirm that OPEC is still on top and it can reoccupy it on one day if it wants? But, is this the cur-rent goal of OPEC? Or, should it keep its markets and its quota in these markets and then arrange its house again after considering the power of its competitors? The pioneering role of OPEC cannot be terminated be-cause US shale oil production, which is estimated at 3 million bpd, is for its domestic consumption only not for the world. Moreover, the role of OPEC is the oil markets is still powerful; in addition, its recent meeting which was held in November was historical because it allowed the international markets to express themselves freely; therefore, OPEC will remain the most influential ele-ment in oil prices internationally.
Kamel Al-HarmyOil Analyst
Perspective futureof oil prices
41May 2015 Issue 40
42May 2015 Issue 40
Study
Destiny of oil under the results of Paris Conference of climate change
Talk does not stop on climate change or the main related topics on top of which the environmental and climatic impacts of climate change due to the accumulation and concentration of greenhouse gases or gases resulted from thermal occlusion such as carbon dioxide gas. Add to this the speech on the economic effects of such phenomenon , and their causes, especially the unreasonable human activity and the excessive use of energy resources, particularly the fossil fuel such oil, coal and some-what gas.Major big industrial countries particularly the Eu-ropean countries which are responsible historically for the amount of the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions have targeted the fossil fuel since
they met during the first round of the multilateral international negotiations to allot the text of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992; besides the subse-quent negotiations held to sign its executive proto-col in the Japanese city of Kyoto in 1997. Yet, the great influence of petroleum exporting countries whether from inside or outside OPEC, which plays a substantial role in the international oil and eco-nomic relations; besides the developing countries in the (77 + China) group managed to put the his-torical responsibility of causing the global warm-ing on the developed industrial countries. They also managed to obligate them to pay the price of the enrichment of their economic and social wel-
Destiny of oil under the results of Paris Conference of climate change
By Dr. Mohammed Al-SaiyadConsultant, Analyst and Economic
Researcher, Kingdom of Bahrain
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43May 2015 Issue 40
fare, as this led to environmental and climatic cat-astrophic damage since the industrial revolution. This helped control the pressures practiced by the European countries to list the petroleum exporting countries among the countries which are obligat-ed to shoulder the responsibility of reducing such harmful emissions.However, these attempts or pressures began grad-ually disappearing every time the members of UNCCC hold their annual meeting until they held the twentieth conference in Lima, the capital of Peru from 1-12 December 2014. In Each of these conferences the European countries were practic-ing pressures particularly the importing and oil-consumer one to pass one of the most important items of the United Nations Framework Conven-tion on Climate Change epitomized in “common
but differentiated responsibilities” for countries to shoulder the responsibility of reducing emissions in order to allot new obligations to reduce emis-sions equally among the developed and developing countries. When this happens, the oil-producing countries will have to take national pressures to reduce their emissions among which approving legislations and strict stipulations that would clamp down on petro-leum sectors and increase their costs. Thereby, this will help reduce the degree of competitiveness of marketing, particularly the foreign market compet-itiveness. Yet, the petroleum countries, especially Saudi Arabia, OPEC and OAPEC member coun-tries managed to in Lima again foil this European endeavor. In addition, the intervention Mr. Khaled Abou Al-Leef, Head of the Saudi Arabian delega-
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44May 2015 Issue 40
tion which is negotiating in the field of climate change, was decisive, as he stressed the principle of centrality of common but differentiated respon-sibility which will be replaced with Kyoto protocol whose validity was expired in 2012. What was agreed upon in Lima, which the ad-vanced industrial countries wanted as a bridge to cross to the new agreement, which they are press-ing to make Paris – will host the conference of the 21 parties from November 30 to December 11, 2015 – its ‘coronation platform’?After negotiations controlled by the usual tension between rich and poor countries, the conference of the 21parties issued a five-page statement en-titled “Lima Call for Climate Action” included what follows:1- The new agreement, which will replace the Kyo-to Protocol should be binding for all countries, the rich and poor alike, and its approach should be bal-anced in dealing with key issues such as mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building, and transparency with regard to implementation and support. 2- Yet, the third point in the statement which follows directly it’s the point preceded it, recon-firms that the agreement will be based on the fundamental principle of “common but differen-tiated responsibility”.3- The statement calls loosely the developed coun-tries to provide financial support to the developing countries to enable them to meet their ambitious executive steps in the areas of mitigation and ad-aptation, particularly the developing countries that are most fragile and vulnerable to climate change especially island states.4- The agreement necessitates making the ob-ligations of the countries regard the so-called “Nationally Determined Contributions” which are mentioned in Article II of UNFCCC more effective than what they are doing now. In ad-dition, they have been obligated to present these obligations in the first quarter of 2015
before holding the 21- part conference in Paris. 5- Under pressure practiced by the developing countries to convert the repeated pledges of the de-veloped countries to provide financial and technical support to them, into reality, they – the developed countries – had to accept the statement by referring the issue to UNFCCC Secretariat to follow up it; in addition to spreading these pledges on UNFCCC electronic website; besides submitting a report in this domain in October 2015. This confirms the fact that the developed countries insist on dodging these obligations.Can we say after that the hour of truth for oil has ap-proached with the approach of the 21-part conference of climate change in Paris on November 30, 2015?The final statement of Lima conference which is entitled “Lima Call for Climate Action” was loose
44May 2015 Issue 40
45May 2015 Issue 40
and non-obligatory for the developing countries despite the joint statement which was signed by US President Barack Obama and Chinese Presi-dent Xi Jinping on November, 12 2014 on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation forum, the Asia-Pacific (APEC), which included a pledge by USA to reduce its emissions between 26% -28% by 2025lower than its level of its emissions in 2005. In addition, China has pledged to reach the peak of its emissions of carbon dioxide by 2030 or earlier; in addition to increasing its resources generated from non-fossil energy to 20% by 2030. Both countries pledged to work together and in cooperation with the remaining parts of UNFCCC to agree at a new protocol in the 21- part conference in Paris.The statement of Lima did not include any obli-gation against the countries to force them to sub-
mit their pledges to trim down their emissions by March 2015 as previously assumed. It only men-tioned that countries are bid to consider to submit their obligations whenever they are ready for this. Even if they have provided elaborate obligations before holding Paris conference, other countries do not have the right to review and comment on them, because China, India and the rest of the ‘77 + China’ group – the developing countries –refused accepting such censorship which is considered against their sovereignty.Practically, the rich countries have refused to fulfill their financial pledges to help developing countries to enable the latter to reduce their emissions and adapt with the economic and environmental impacts of climate change. However, the developing coun-tries have insisted on their usual plea epitomized in
45May 2015 Issue 40
46May 2015 Issue 40
urging the international family to allow them de-velop their economies and stop placing obstacles in front of them particularly the restrictions of control-ling emissions. Moreover, they have confirmed that the rich countries remain historically responsible for the amount of emissions concentration.The ‘77 + China’ group – the developing countries that are members of UNFCCC – considers all this good progress from its viewpoint because it helps keep it aside from shouldering a part of the financial and economic cost of reducing emissions. Yet, this is not enough to stop targeting the fossil fuel especially oil.By viewing the Lima statement, it becomes clear that the new agreement will be obligatory for all countries, including oil producing countries. In ad-dition, the coming negotiations, even if they fail to agree at a new executive protocol for the conven-tion, will engage the details of quantitative distri-bution of reduction percentages.Moreover, the abovementioned joint presidential American and Chinese statement is considered a specific violation against the unified stance of the “77 + China” group, as the statement includes for the first time a Chinese declaration that the new Executive Protocol of UNFCCC will be obligatory for member countries.Consequently, such stances will give the rich coun-tries an appropriate chance again to re-pose dur-ing Paris conference the principle of “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities” and practice pressure on the developing countries to give it up or amend it; the matter will open the door for im-posing quantitative obligations over the petroleum economies. Furthermore, the remaining months before holding Paris meeting will witness intensive pressures to agree at the text of the new agreement which will be presented in Paris conference for approval as per the decisions of ‘Durban Platform’ which were approved by all parties in the conference which was held in Durban, South Africa in 2011. Despite the strong failure opportunities that are still
surrounding the results of the 21-member confer-ence regarding the climate that will be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11 2015, the ele-ments of success are also competing the elements of its failure. The technical teams which are participating in the negotiations will identify in the preparatory meet-ings which are usually held by the parts of negotia-tions before the annual conference of climate change – particularly the three important meetings hosted by the German city of Bonn, the first meeting from 1-11 June, and the second from August 31 to September 4; whereas, the third meeting will be from 19-23 Oc-tober, 2015 – the most important related cases and topics to take decisions in Paris conference. Accordingly, the governments of UNFCCC mem-ber countries are required to submit their offers to reduce emissions during the deadline which is al-
46May 2015 Issue 40
47May 2015 Issue 40
lotted between March and June 2015. However, Switzerland has submitted as a first country its of-fer in this domain on February 27, 2015.The European union followed immediately Swit-zerland and submitted its offer on March, 6 2015. In addition, the chief executive officer of UNFCCC Christiana Figueres, who is keen on holding Chi-na, India and the remaining developing countries to shoulder part of the cost of reducing emissions, expects more developed countries to present their offers in the coming few days. Yet, in the time when the European Union pledged to make the new executive protocol climate, which is scheduled to be approved in Paris, obligatory legally for all member countries, the US admin-istration of President Barrack Obama is seeking, according to the New York Times newspaper, to reach a non-obligatory agreement in order to avoid
going to the Congress, which is controlled by Re-publicans, to get approval on the agreement.Now, what should GCC countries and the Arab pe-troleum countries in general do about these clear and direct pressing new developments on all member developing countries of UNFCCC known as the ‘77 + China’ group especially under the fact that China, India and Brazil along with the key producing and exporting countries adopt independent policies? In brief, we propose that the delegations of these countries should not be submit any offers before recognizing the obligations which the developed countries will present in this domain; in addition to recognizing the reactions of the remaining mem-bers of the ‘77+China’ group. We will keep following up this topic which is consid-ered one of the most important challenges that might threaten the continuity of fossil oil in the future.
It has been noticed since last century until the cur-rent time that the machine of the western media did not stop its offensive campaigns against the petro-leum producing countries particularly GCC coun-tries. These campaigns are launched systematically far away from the principles and values of honest media which should be neutral. Unfortunately, such offensive campaigns managed to form a mentality for us that believes that what is written by the west-ern media against the Gulf petroleum industry is ab-solute and irrefutable truth which. Thus, the value of truth has become equal to lie.
I do not hold the readers responsible for such in-complete equation. I would like only to clarify facts and pose appropriate solutions from my personal viewpoint. In fact, the Gulf petroleum industry has achieved ostensible progress in commitment to HSE criteria although many other countries are still un-able to reach such progress. Although many of the developed countries use several other resources of energy which may be much worse than oil, we did not hear any criticism in the western media against this. Their media highlights deliberately other issues to distract the attention of the public opinion from
their industrial reality. Add to the expensive tax policy which is applied on the petroleum products; the matter leads to doubling prices and provoking accordingly the consumer in the western societies to think that petroleum is monopolized and the hike of prices is normal result of such monopoly. We have recently read also articles published by the western media refer that a political plot is being carried out through petroleum. In addition, some individuals began unfortunately using some phrase of these ar-ticles in our Arab societies.
Officials of the petroleum sector shoulder part of what is happening currently in media because of the delay in confronting such offensive media cam-paigns which led often to economic losses.
It is not possible to give up any considerable right for such strategic commodity which takes part effec-tively in securing ways of development in the devel-oping countries. It is pride for us that GCC countries have participated through the petroleum revenues in development projects inside such countries; the matter helped increase the standard of living there. Add to this the responsibility which our countries shoulder to secure the petroleum supplies to the in-dustrial countries.
If we do not shoulder the responsibility of defending the interests of GCC countries and clarifying their petroleum policies in front of the world which is the value of the missing truth, there will be individu-als ready to direct the international public opinion to serve their personal interests which are against petroleum; the matter epitomizes the value of lie which is common in our world. Thus, the good and bad values will be equal and the public opinion will not be able to realize which value is correct.
