OPEC urges Asian countries to step up oil, gas exploration

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has urged countries in the Asia region, including the Philippines, to develop further their oil and gas exploration schemes.

"OPEC considers the Asia region to be a very important market for its future oil supply," OPEC secretary-general Ali Rodriguez-Araque said, in his speech during the 7th ASEAN Council on Petroleum Conference & Exhibition here.

Araque said the region will play a big role in the medium-term outlook of the OPEC.

According to OPEC’s World Energy Model (OWEM), which is updated yearly, world oil consumption will rise to an estimated 106 million barrels/day in 2020.

Oil production by non-OPEC will hold steady at approximately 49 million barrels per day in the first 20 years of this century.

He said with about 77 percent of the world’s proven reserves, OPEC is best placed to play the role of reliable incremental supplier of oil. This is because, at the current volume of production, OPEC’s 800 billion barrels of proven reserves, are projected to last for about 80 years.

According to Araque, even though non-OPEC countries have about 23 percent of the world’s proven reserves, they collectively account for approximately 60 percent of total global output.

"At the ongoing rate of production, their reserves are expected to be depleted in about 20 years. As the statistics show, the future of global supply rests with OPEC. In that regard, OPEC will need to steadily but substantially augment its oil production capacity," he said.

Araque also took note that within the energy mix, oil currently accounts for about 40 percent market share. This is estimated to reach 50 percent in 2020. "Certainly, such development would mean great opportunities and of course challenges," he said.

He said OPEC projections were anchored on important geo-political developments in East Asia and a rapid economic growth have made it the most dynamic region in the world, in terms of changing the balance of the energy market. "The region has been ranked as number one in energy demand growth in the world," he said.

The OPEC official said they consider the Asia region to be a very important market for the future oil supply, noting that about 92 percent of global demand growth in 2000 came from Asia.