The oil and gas industry is “under siege” due to years of under-investment, the OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said, adding the resulting supply shortage could be eased if extra supplies from Iran and Venezuela were allowed to flow.
Years of sanctions have limited supplies from Iran and Venezuela.
In addition, the West has imposed sanctions on Russia, a member of OPEC+ that groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, tightening oil markets further.
“We could, however, unlock resources and strengthen capacity if the oil produced by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela were allowed to return to the market,” Barkindo told an energy conference in Nigeria’s capital.
Strain on the industry has been increased by some countries’ efforts to divest from hydrocarbons, he said.
While they are seeking to limit global warming, he said oil demand was growing even as investment in capacity falls and prices surge.
Nigeria’s oil minister Timipre Sylva said Africa’s top oil producer would not abandon fossil fuels.
“For us in Nigeria, fossil fuel will always have a share in our energy mix, for the foreseeable future. We will not at this time abandon fossil fuels. We have adopted … gas as a transition fuel,” he said.
