HE Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, was presented today with the "International Oil Diplomacy Man of the Year 2016 Award" at the Energy Institute’s International Petroleum Week conference in London.
The Award was given to HE Dr. Al Sada in appreciation of the key role he played through 2016 in leading OPEC members and coordinating with non-OPEC producers and securing the Vienna Agreement to cut global oil supply, the Ministry of Energy and Industry said in a statement Wednesday.
In a speech on the occasion after he received the award from Chief Executive of the Energy Institute Louise Kingham, Dr. Al Sada thanked the International Energy Institute for presenting him with the Award, saying "it is truly a recognition of the role of the State of Qatar under the leadership of HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani who consistently guided and encouraged me to keep the process on track, right through 2016, despite the many challenges and hurdles we faced. In doing so, Qatar relied on its cordial relations and mutual trust with the international community".
Under these hard circumstances, the State of Qatar, as president of OPEC, undertook the responsibility of building bridges among the OPEC members, followed by bringing together both OPEC and non-OPEC members to a common platform with unified objective. Persistent and persuasive diplomatic initiatives were adopted as the course of action. This helped in the development of ‘Algiers Accord’, which further paved way in formulation of ‘Vienna Agreement’ in November last year, leading to ‘OPEC and non-OPEC Agreement’ ten days later, Dr. Al Sada said.
HE the Minister of Energy and Industry highlighted the fact that the agreement "represents a consensus that was reached amongst a diverse group of countries, from the far corners of the world: the Americas; Europe; Asia; the Middle East; and Africa. It proved that multi-lateral, beneficial, global agreements are still possible through positive diplomatic initiatives, and such an approach could help in resolving many other international issues. 
HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada noted that the outlook for the oil market this year has now improved with a more positive tone. A year ago, Crude oil prices had fallen to a 13-year low of $27 a barrel. 
"Today, oil prices are essentially double of that and holding in a $50-$60 range. The Vienna agreements are expected to reduce the high oil inventories and return balance to the oil market later this year," the Minister added. 
HE underlined that economists agree that the drop in oil prices was not in favor of any party, everyone has lost, and that they also agree that the recovery of the oil industry will inevitably lead to the recovery of the world economy. 
Concluding, HE Dr. Al Sada expressed thanks to the Energy Institute for its recognition of oil diplomacy as means to support and strengthen the world economy in the coming years. 
The Energy Institute, host of IP Week, is the largest Royal Charter international professional membership organization and learned society concerned solely with energy, with the Queen of Britain as its Patron. 
IP Week is recognized as one of the major international oil and gas events, where senior leaders, policy makers and academics gather to share, learn and shape the future direction of the industry. IP Week has a global appeal, attracting delegates from over 50 countries and it is one of the major events in the oil and gas industry’s calendar.
Source: QNA