OPEC’s Mohammad Barkindo: Rebound in Oil Investments Minimal

Investments needed to ensure stability in the global oil industry are returning after a downturn, but the pace is still slow, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said.

Barkindo was talking to Reuters and an Azeri TV station Real on the sidelines of an OPEC and non-OPEC monitoring committee, which met on the weekend in the Azeri capital of Baku.

He also said leading oil producing nations have made significant achievements in terms of cooperation and efforts to avoid imbalance between the supply and demand on the global oil market.

Barkindo added he would welcome greater engagement with the United States to tackle industry issues.

According to estimates from Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser last year, the global oil and gas industry needs to invest more than $20 trillion over the next 25 years to meet expected growth in demand and compensate for the natural decline in developed fields.

“A number of challenges are arising from the down cycle that we have seen, and at the top of that list is an issue of investments. We have seen investments contract for couple of years and even at the moment the rebound is minimal,” Barkindo said.

“For the long cycle projects, which are the base for the global economy, the picture is still not encouraging. Therefore we welcome the US to join us in this global energy dialogue to address this and other issues affecting this industry.”

source: Financial Tribune