The global oil market is well supplied and there is no need for OPEC to raise production, says Abdullah al-Attiyah, Qatar’s energy minister.
Following a meeting with Spanish industry minister Joan Clos, he said OPEC oil producers will discuss whether to pump more oil at their next meeting in September.
“If we think there is a shortage of supply, we will move,” said al-Attiyah. “But there is no shortage of supply. There is no reason why we should move because then we would produce oil and nobody would buy it.
“The market is very well balanced on the crude side,” he said, adding he had checked with Qatar’s customers and found no evidence that supply was short.
Qatar is now the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Spain is a major customer, importing 3.5 million tonnes a year. Qatar expects to produce 31 million tonnes of LNG this year.
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