Arab Energy Ministers Seek More Exploration

AMMAN, Jordan – Arab energy ministers called Wednesday for more of their oil revenues to be reinvested in exploration, saying their countries needed to realize the potential of their reserves.

“The Middle East alone contains 50 percent of the world’s untapped energy resources and they need further finance to develop their potential,” ministers of the 10 member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a statement at the end of a four-day meeting in Jordan’s capital.

The conference urged member states to set aside a greater portion of their revenues for exploration, particularly in the search for natural gas, but it did not suggest a percentage.

“The international situation demands that countries which produce natural gas intensify their exploration efforts,” the communique said, referring to the high price of crude oil, which is having an inflationary impact on certain goods and services across the world.

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries comprises the seven Arab members of the more influential Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus the smaller energy producers Egypt, Syria and Bahrain.

In their final statement, the ministers also said Arab oil producers should modernize their refineries to increase capacity and produce products that cause less pollution and are environmentally friendly.

“By using modern technology, we believe it will be possible to expand available oil resources,” said the statement.

The ministers also said they would encourage their governments to pass laws to implement energy-saving measures.

Jordan is not a member of OAPEC, but it took part in the conference as it hosted the event. And Turkey attended because most of Tuesday’s discussions were devoted to the project to export Egyptian natural gas through Jordan and Syria to Europe via Turkey.

The project, which began in 2002, has seen the construction of a pipeline from Egypt’s El-Arish in northern Sinai to the north Jordanian region of Rihab, near the Syrian border. The pipeline is due to be extended to Syria, Turkey and Lebanon.

The conference decided that OAPEC’s next meeting will be held in Qatar in May 2010.