PARIS: Oil producer Oman warned Thursday that crude prices could soar to $200 a barrel as it criticized the International Energy Agency’s ambitions of halting new fossil fuel projects to combat climate change.
The IEA called in May on for a halt to new investment in oil, gas and coal extraction in order to boost chances of holding down the dangerous rise in global temperatures.
But Oman’s energy minister, Mohammed Al-Rumhi, said such “unilateral recommendations” were not helpful.
“Recommending that we should not invest in new oil... I think that’s extremely dangerous,” he said at a conference jointly organized by his country with the IEA on energy transition in the Middle East and North Africa.
“If we stop investing in fossil fuel industry abruptly there will be energy starvation and the price of energy will just shoot” higher and “in the short term we could see a 100 or 200 per barrel scenario,” said Al-Rumhi.
Crude oil prices have been fluctuating around $70 per barrel recently.
“It’s very easy to sit in your comfort zone and talk about efficiency and solar and renewables... and then we forget a third of the world population is suffering from a lack of energy,” said Al-Rumhi.
The criticism appeared aimed at the head of the IEA, Fatih Birol, who had urged countries in the Middle East and North Africa region to develop renewable energy.
Birol spoke about what he called a “bitter truth” that Middle East energy producing nations face: the countries which account for 70 percent of global GDP have undertaken to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“This will have implication for oil demand and therefore for investments,” he said.
Oman warns of $200 oil in dig at IEA climate advice
https://arab.news/vnjgj
Oman warns of $200 oil in dig at IEA climate advice
- The IEA called in May on for a halt to new investment in oil, gas and coal extraction
- Recommending that we should not invest in new oil is "extremely dangerous," Oman's oil minister said
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.
The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.
Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.
On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.
