The current president of OPEC, the Equatorial Guinean Antonio Oburu Ondo, stated this Wednesday in Vienna that “the world can’t live without Petroleum” and that it will not be able to do without this fossil source in the foreseeable future, given the energy needs of the planet.
“The reality of energy is that the world cannot live without oil“, said Oburu OndoMinister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, one of the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Ondo said that oil has been “central” in the past, is “crucial” for the present and will be “fundamental” for the future of society.
“It is a permanent consumer good. We can’t do without it”, he insisted.
The minister delivered the keynote address at the 8th OPEC International Seminar, a two-day conference that brings together dozens of fossil fuel industry officials and climate change experts in Vienna.
Under the motto “Towards a sustainable and inclusive energy transition”, the forum was opened today by the Secretary General of OPEC, the Kuwaiti Haitham Al Ghais, who also highlighted the importance of crude oil while advocating the promotion of technologies that reduce its greenhouse effect emissions.
“Oil plays a central and fundamental role in life, but the industry (of the sector) must minimize its environmental impacthe declared.
Al Ghais advocated that the energy transition be based on “the three pillars of sustainability: economic viability, environmental protection and social equity”, and considered that each country and region must find its own way to reduce emissions.
“There is no single path to the climate challenge”, he sentenced.
The positions expressed by those responsible for the OPEC They are not new and coincide with those of other defenders of the oil industry, on which the income of the countries of the organization highly depends.
They are especially concerned about the growing difficulties they are encountering in attracting capital flows to their industries, something that is already reducing the productive capacity of several of them, while investments in renewable energies are growing.
“We must pay close attention to the decrease in investment in the sector”, stressed the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, Parviz Shahbazov, at the forum.
The OPEC seminar comes amid the organization’s controversial decision to exclude journalists from the international media, Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Several Austrian and international press associations protested last week against what they call an arbitrary decision against freedom of information.
own OPECwhich has not given explanations about the exclusions or the reasons why it does allow access to other media, including EFE, assures that it is a new communication strategy, without revealing details about it.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
