Protect oil from speculators: Venezuelan oil minister

By Ebru Sengul

ISTANBUL (AA) - Oil's central role in the global economy should not be left to chance against the attacks of speculators, Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino said Tuesday at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul.

Speaking at the congress, of which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner for 2016, del Pino hailed Venezuela crucial role in OPEC as one of the founding members of the organization.

He highlighted that OPEC is in a position in which a lot of communication and cooperation is needed to obtain a consensus on oil stabilization, which they tried to obtain at the beginning of the year.

"We sat together in Doha to make a proposal. That was the first time that everyone heard about the freeze. It was very well received especially from Saudi Arabia. In April, we held a very historical meeting with 18 countries. Unfortunately, we were not able to get an agreement. So we thought we could get together in Algiers and come up with an agreement. We were able to get a consensus about a framework to discuss with non-OPEC members," del Pino recounted.

"Now we are at the right time to talk with Mr. Alexander Novak and other energy ministers here for this meeting," he said, highlighting that this agreement is needed for the benefit of the global economy.

Energy ministers who are participating in the World Energy Congress in Istanbul will meet on Wednesday at 14:00 to consult on an oil production cut decision, which was taken at OPEC's informal meeting in Algiers.

Del Pino explained that OPEC formed a high level technical committee to deal with the many problems facing the organization.

He said that discussions have focused on production, but that producer issues also need to be addressed.

Emphasizing the need for stabilizing the oil market, del Pino stressed that oil is a form of energy that cannot be regenerated and therefore needs to be protected.

As a founding member of OPEC, Venezuela is an important player in the global oil market. In 2014, Venezuela had 298 billion barrels of proved oil reserves, the largest in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) country analysis.

Venezuela’s oil revenues account for about 95 percent of export earnings and the oil and gas sector makes up around 25 per cent of gross domestic product.