The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali Al-Naimi, today received Claude Mandil, the New Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Welcoming the IEA official at the meeting, Al-Naimi expressed his hope that cooperation between IEA and OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) will be further strengthened during Mandil’s tenure, and that new dimensions of consultation will be promoted under his administration.
After the meeting, Al-Naimi told the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the meeting is part of ongoing consultation between oil producer and consumer countries in order to stabilise the international oil market, particularly in the light of current circumstances. He also said that the market requires efforts by all concerned parties in order to prevent an imbalance between supply and demand that would harm both producers and consumers.
In addition to discussion of the stability of the oil market, Al-Naimi said that they also discussed the importance of OPEC, and of Saudi Arabia in particular, to make up any shortage in oil supply resulting from the interruption of the oil production of any country. In this circumstance, the IEA agrees with OPEC opinion that producers should utilize their spare capacity before consumers resort to the oil available in strategic reserves.
“The IEA Executive Director agrees on the importance of the continuity of consultation between IEA and Saudi Arabia, and IEA and OPEC. This will contribute to the creation of a stable and transparent oil market and lead to an effective decision-making process,” Al-Naimi noted. He added that the IEA strongly supports the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to establish a permanent Secretariat for the International Energy Forum in Riyadh. “The coordination between IEA and Saudi Arabia began at the inception of the initiative, and the strong support of the IEA played a major role in the initiative’s success.
Al-Naimi expressed his appreciation of the visit of the IEA Executive Director and the results of the meeting, which emphasized the importance of consultation between the two parties and between IEA and OPEC for stability of the international oil market and the growth of the international economy.
The meeting was attended by Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the Ministry’s Undersecretary for Petroleum Affairs, Suleiman Al-Harbish, the Kingdom’s delegate to OPEC, and Dr Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz Al-Mohan’a, Advisor at the Office of the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
Source: SPA
