The Secretary General of OPEC warns the International Energy Agency against undermining investments in the oil industry

In response to the recent statements of the International Energy Agency, Al-Ghais affirmed that OPEC and the OPEC + alliance do not target oil prices, but rather focus on the fundamental factors in the market and enable investments in the sector that the world desperately needs, and continued that pointing fingers at oil exporters and their allies and distorting their actions will lead to “counterproductive results.” “.

And the Secretary-General of OPEC stressed again that blaming oil for inflation is “wrong” and “incorrect from a technical point of view” and many other factors behind inflation.

Earlier this month, Al-Ghais considered that the decision to voluntarily cut oil production was not part of any OPEC + agreement, but rather a precautionary measure. By many OPEC member countries will exacerbate inflation and cause economic uncertainty.

The latest report of the International Energy Agency showed that the oil production cuts announced by the producing countries in the OPEC + group this month may increase the expected supply deficit in the second half of the year and may harm consumers and the recovery of the global economy.

“Consumers who are facing inflation in the prices of basic materials will now have to squeeze their budgets further,” the agency said in its monthly report on oil, adding, “This is strongly reflected in economic recovery and growth.”

The agency stated that it expects a decrease in the global oil supply by 400 thousand barrels per day by the end of the year, indicating an expected increase in production by one million barrels per day from outside OPEC +, starting in March, compared to 1.4 million barrels per day that will be reduced by the producing countries in the group.

Earlier this month, Fatih Birol, Director of the International Energy Agency, said that the global oil market will witness a shortage of supplies in the second half of this year, and explained that this matter may push oil prices to rise more than current levels.