Enhancing the old ... embracing the new C o m m e n t a r y The holding of the Third OPEC Summit of Heads of State World Summit on Sustainable Development two years this month is the latest reminder of the Organization’s later, maintained that economic and social development abiding commitment to its longstanding objectives, as and the eradication of poverty should be the overriding well as its readiness to recognize the new challenges fac- global priority. ing the oil market and to respond accordingly. Clearly, it can be seen that, while the challenges them- Not only are the challenges increasing in number, selves are more numerous and complex, there is a vast they are also growing in complexity. network of interlinkages among them and this adds to It is no longer simply a case of representing the inter- the overall self-assigned mandate of the Organization. ests of Member Countries in the oil industry and seeking Furthermore, the means of handling the challenges means of achieving market order and stability, as was the effectively has been as important, in a sense, as the chal- situation at the birth of the Organization in Baghdad in lenges themselves, since it is crucial to get this right. September 1960. Accordingly, OPEC ensures that, in its decisions and ac- OPEC has advanced a long way in the half century tions, the required attention is given to such key elements since then and the challenges it recognizes and acts upon as strategic vision, daily market monitoring, long-term have broadened considerably. They span such areas as: analysis, realistic scenario-building, meaningful dialogue the national oil companies, including their relationships and cooperation, and the latest developments in technol- with their international counterparts; the downstream, ogy. In this respect, OPEC is well-supported by the work especially in the light of the shortcomings that have man- carried out by its Vienna-based Secretariat. ifested themselves recently; manpower in the industry, The Third Summit, to be held in Riyadh on November with the present shortages of essential skills; energy mat- 17–18, will build upon the achievements of the past and ters generally, including oil’s close cousin, gas, and not will focus on three primary themes: providing petroleum; overlooking renewables; relations with other members promoting prosperity; and protecting the planet. More of the global energy community; the environment, cov- details on these subjects can be found in this issue of ering both climate change and local pollution; economic the OPEC Bulletin. development and growth, with special emphasis on the During the course of its history, OPEC has become needs of the world’s poorer nations; and world trade, an established, respected member of the global energy particularly in the context of the Doha talks. community, with a vast bank of experience covering al- The first two OPEC Summits highlighted many of the most every possible eventuality in the oil sector and re- additional challenges. For example, the First Summit, in lated areas. It is widely consulted on industry matters by Algiers in 1975, expressed the need for a new, more just a plethora of interests, including government, business, international economic order, and, in calling for great- the media and academia. er help for other developing countries, led directly to The Third Summit will enable OPEC to strengthen the establishment of the OPEC Fund for International its already solid credentials with regard to oil matters, Development. And the Second Summit, in Caracas in as the Heads of State review the outstanding challenges 2000, addressed the need to enhance dialogue among facing the industry today, address the strategic implica- producers and consumers, highlighted OPEC’s concern tions for Member Countries and readjust the focus of the about the global environment, and, in anticipation of the Organization accordingly for the years ahead. Heads of State Summit 4 Riyadh hosts Third OPEC Summit Saudi Arabia: A brief journey into a modern Kingdom (p9) C o n t e n t s Saudi Arabia: A clear vision on oil’s future Interview with Ali I Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (p12) The Kingdom prepares ... Interview with HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (p20) Providing Petroleum 22 The human resource: Essential to the industry’s future Protecting the Planet 28 The planet and its people Publishers Membership and aims OPEC OPEC is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Organization, established in Baghdad, September Obere Donaustrasse 93 10–14, 1960, by IR Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia 1020 Vienna, Austria and Venezuela. Its objective is to coordinate and Telephone: +43 1 211 12/0 unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, OPEC bulletin Telefax: +43 1 216 4320 in order to secure fair and stable prices for Public Relations & Information petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and Department fax: +43 1 214 9827 regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; E-mail: [email protected] and a fair return on capital to those investing in Cover Saudi Arabia — host of the Third OPEC Summit. the industry. The Organization now comprises 12 Web site: www.opec.org Members: Qatar joined in 1961; Indonesia and SP Visit the OPEC Web site for the latest news and infor- Libyan AJ (1962); United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, mation about the Organization and back issues of the 1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); and Angola OPEC Bulletin which is also available free of charge (2007). Ecuador joined the Organization in 1973 in PDF format. and suspended its Membership in 1992; Gabon Vol XXXVIII, No 8, November 2007, ISSN 0474–6279 Hard copy subscription: $70/year joined in 1975 and left in 1995. Promoting Prosperity 32 OPEC Member Countries help ease plight of UNICEF world’s poorest people OPEC Member Country Profiles 40 Algeria — p40 SP Libyan AJ — p64 Angola — p44 Nigeria — p68 Indonesia — p48 Qatar — p72 IR Iran — p52 Saudi Arabia — p76 Iraq — p56 United Arab Emirates — p80 Kuwait — p60 Venezuela — p84 OPEC Publications 88 The OPEC Bulletin welcomes letters and comments on articles included in the Bulletin, as well as contributions on oil and energy issues in general. Please send your letters to: [email protected] Secretariat officials Contributions Editorial staff Secretary General The OPEC Bulletin welcomes original contributions on Editor-in-Chief Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim Abdalla Salem El-Badri the technical, financial and environmental aspects Director, Research Division Senior Editorial Co-ordinator of all stages of the energy industry, research reports Ulunma Angela Agoawike Dr Hasan M Qabazard and project descriptions with supporting illustrations Editor Head, Energy Studies Department and photographs. Jerry Haylins Mohamed Hamel Associate Editors Head, PR & Information Department Keith Aylward-Marchant Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim Editorial policy James Griffin Head, Petroleum Market Analysis Department The OPEC Bulletin is published by the PR & Informa- Production Mohammad Alipour-Jeddi tion Department. The contents do not necessarily Diana Lavnick and Andrea Birnbach Design Senior Legal Counsel reflect the official views of OPEC nor its Member Coun- Dr Ibibia Lucky Worika Elfi Plakolm tries. Names and boundaries on any maps should not Photographs (unless otherwise credited) Head, Data Services Department be regarded as authoritative. No responsibility is tak- Diana Golpashin Fuad Al-Zayer Head, Administration & Human Resources Department en for claims or contents of advertisements. Editorial Alejandro Rodriguez material may be freely reproduced (unless copyright- Head, Office of the Secretary General ed), crediting the OPEC Bulletin as the source. A copy Indexed and abstracted in PAIS International Abdullah Al-Shameri to the Editor would be appreciated. Printed in Austria by Ueberreuter Print and Digimedia Heads of State Summit By Omar Farouk Ibrahim Heads of State of OPEC Member Countries will, for the third time in the 47-year history of the Organization, be meeting at summit level to discuss issues of common interest among their countries and the world at large. The summit is at the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. Scheduled to take place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on November 17–18, 2007, the summit will also provide the Heads of State an opportunity to establish or renew acquaintances and thus help further strengthen relations among the group. As with previous OPEC summits, the Heads of of the energy required to fuel world economic growth) State will be discussing issues of contemporary concern and protecting the environment (through the provision to their countries and to the world at large, with a view of modern energy services and the development and to coming up with a common position, or positions, on promotion of technologies that enhance the environmental them. Three such issues, or challenges, will dominate friendliness of oil). These issues are discussed in some the discussions at the summit. These, according to Ali I detail elsewhere in this magazine. Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, are energy; the environment; and the global Deliverability economy — issues that have, especially in recent years, come to the fore of international discourse. The organizers The first challenge, that of providing petroleum, has in of the summit have aptly summed up these challenges as recent times regained wide currency among energy con- the 6 Ps, namely, providing petroleum (to meet increasing sumers, with some expressing concern about the ade- world demand for energy, especially in the developing quacy of global petroleum resources to meet the increas- world), promoting prosperity (through the provision ing demand, especially from the developing countries. But OPEC OPEC bulletin 11/07 4 A video-shot of the First OPEC Summit of Heads of State and Government, which was held in Algiers, Algeria, in March 1975.