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Business / Qatar Business

Environment a pivotal part of strategies in Qatar’s energy sector: Al Kaabi

Published: 05 Jun 2021 - 08:59 am | Last Updated: 03 Nov 2021 - 06:02 pm
H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, speaking during a session at the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, speaking during a session at the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The Peninsula

Doha: H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, has highlighted the importance of the ongoing energy transition, and said ‘we all have a responsibility to produce energy in a more environmentally sensitive way’. 

Al Kaabi’s remarks came during a session on Energy Transformations held as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in the Russian Federation with the participation of Alexander Novak, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, the Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, amongst a panel of energy leaders.
During the event, Al Kaabi said energy transition is very much needed, and that the environment is at the front and centre of the strategies by all companies working in Qatar. However, the Minister also warned against being driven by an over-excited euphoria that envisages depriving investment from the oil and gas sector.

Al Kaabi cited a recent International Energy Agency report which called for stopping investment in oil and gas and said: “When we deprive the oil and gas sector from additional investment you will have big spikes in oil and gas prices in the next few years which will deprive customers and nations from oil or gas and all the byproducts that come with it. This is a dangerous discussion that will harm humanity and about a billion people around the world, who don’t have electricity today.”

Stressing the importance of a responsible discussion about the much needed energy transition, Al Kaabi added: “We all have a responsibility to produce in a more environmentally sensitive way. We are using the best available emissions abatement technology, we are monitoring methane emissions to arrest it, and we are using carbon capture and sequestration.”

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is an annual business event for the economic sector, which has been held in St. Petersburg in the Russian federation since 1997 with the participation of more than 10,000 people from over 120 different countries. Since 2005, it has been held under the auspices of the Russian President. 

Qatar Petroleum is taking part in this year’s event with a prominent exhibition pavilion featuring QP’s history, landmark achievements, and extensive operations in the oil and gas industry.