Arab Emirates Warns Russia Remains Essential for the Oil Market

On Monday, United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei warned that Russia remains essential to maintaining the world's oil supply.

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"Unless someone wants to step up and contribute 10 million oil barrels a day, we don't see anyone being able to replace Russia," he said during the opening day of "The Global Atlantic Council" energy forum in Dubai.

"Russia is an important member and, leaving politics aside, that volume is necessary today," Al Mazrouei said, referring to the continuity of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Plus, the group formed in 2016 and which brings together the OPEC countries, Russia, and nine other crude oil producers.

Since August 2021, OPEC+ has maintained an increase in oil production of an additional 400,000 barrels per month, despite pressure from consumer countries to accelerate its increase due to the high price of crude oil in international markets.

Al Mazrouei reiterated his country's support for the current OPEC+ strategy to balance supply and demand and ensure global market stability.

At the Dubai forum, the Emirati Minister of Industry Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber indicated that the balance between oil supply and demand is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by the last quarter of the year.

"The decline in long-term investments in oil and gas and an unrealistic approach to keeping pace with the transformation of the energy sector makes markets vulnerable to geopolitical shocks," he warned.