Manama, October 20 (BNA) Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa participated today in the seventh edition of the “Petroleum Diplomacy” conference, which is being held under the slogan “Gulf States in a Net Zero World”.
The Petro Diplomacy Conference, held annually by the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW), is a landmark event that brings together energy sector stakeholders in the Persian Gulf states, North American global supply competitors, analysts, and policy makers to discuss how to do so. Changes in technology, financial priorities, and growth opportunities continue to alter the relationship between politics and energy for both the region and the world.
In his speech to the conference, the Minister of Oil stressed that the Kingdom of Bahrain has implemented a wide range of environmental projects and initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the negative effects of climate change, in cooperation with many local and international bodies, including the “Green Climate Fund”, which was held Its 21st board of directors meeting in Bahrain, the first oil country to host such an event.
The minister indicated that the Board of Directors of the Green Climate Fund approved during that meeting the financing of environmental projects in Bahrain, noting that among these projects is the project of the Ministry of Oil with the Green Climate Fund, “enhancing the climate resilience of the water sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” “
Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the Ministry of Oil and the Electricity and Water Authority on the one hand, and government and private institutions on the other, in signing the joint agreement to improve energy efficiency through the implementation of a number of them. One of the programs that aim to reduce energy use in government and private buildings, which reduces electricity and water bills, and contributes to saving natural gas used in the production of electricity and water in the Kingdom.
He added that Tatweer Petroleum Company opened the first and second two solar power stations with the aim of reducing the use of natural gas to generate electricity, which contributes to preserving the country’s natural resources.
He pointed out that the Corona virus epidemic in general has weakened the desire to invest in the oil industry for difficult reservoirs, in addition to the fact that the industry is facing greater pressure from regulators and shareholders in Western international oil companies in order to shift energy and move away from oil. From investing in fossil fuels, stressing that the current rise in oil and gas prices proves that upstream development is still necessary with the expansion of renewable energy projects to meet the increasing global demand for energy.
Referring to the recent discovery in the Bahrain field in 2018, the minister indicated that studies are continuing in cooperation with various international companies to find the appropriate technology to benefit from the extraction of oil and gas in commercial quantities.
NS