Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said Sunday long-term projections showed expansion of global economy and trade, to boost energy demand and domination of fossil fuel in energy market.
"Fossil fuel will maintain its dominance in future despite growing share of renewable energies," Al-Omair, also Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs, said.
He was speaking before a session on "Energy Beyond Limits Through Innovation and Collaboration," of the 19th Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2015).
Oil, said Al-Omair, was still dominating energy market despite retreating from 32 percent share now to a forecasted 28 percent by 2035. Giant investments for oil exploration are good, he noted.
He said financing sustainable development would guarantee fair distribution on consumers and boost efficiency.
Al-Omair said the US has become one of the world's largest oil producers coupled with minimizing dependence on oil imports in the wake of its success in increasing its shale oil output to around four million barrels per day (bpd).
OPEC, he noted, has been playing a key role in stability of oil markets for decades.
Bahraini Minister of Energy Abdulhussein Merza said oil prices have been affected with the production of shale oil.
Oil prices are facing further challenges, he noted, like the US intention to construct a pipeline from Canada to southern America and the Chinese plans to develop its refining capacity.
UAE Minister of Energy Suhail Al-Mazroui said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decreased dependence on oil as a source of economic development.
He said oil represented 25 percent of GDP, and the UAE was expanding in the use of alternative energy resources like nuclear, gas, solar and wind.
The Show will be opened tomorrow where Gulf and international companies would be displaying their products.
Source: KUNA