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Volume 42 Issue 5
The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) was founded on the basis of the
agreement signed in Beirut, Lebanon on 9 January 1968 between the governments of Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, the State of Kuwait and the (then) Kingdom of Libya. The agreement stipulates that the Organization
shall be domiciled in the City of Kuwait.
The principal objective of the Organization is the cooperation of the members in various forms of
economic activity in the petroleum industry, the determination of ways and means of safeguarding the
legitimate interests of its member countries in this industry, individually and collectively, the unification
of efforts to ensure the flow of petroleum to its markets on equitable and reasonable terms, and providing
appropriate environment for investment in the petroleum industry in member countries.
In 1970 the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Algeria
joined the Organization, followed by the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Iraq in 1972, Arab Republic
of Egypt in 1973, then the Republic of Tunisia in 1982 (its membership was suspended in 1986). Any Arab
country which derives a significant share of its national income from petroleum is eligible for membership in
OAPEC upon the approval of three-quarters of the member countries, including all three founding members.
•
OAPEC-Sponsored Ventures:
OAPEC has sponsored the creation of four companies: The Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company (AMPTC),
established in 1972 with headquarters in Kuwait City, theArab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY) established in 1973 with headquarters
in Bahrain, the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) established in 1974 with headquarters in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, the Arab
Petroleum Services Company (APSC) established in 1975 with headquarters in Tripoli, Libya.
The Cover
The petroleum shipping
industry
attracts
great
attention in terms of Arab and
international economies due to
its vital role in the movement
of oil, petroleum products,
and natural gas supplies from
exporting ports to importing
ports around the globe.
More than two thirds of the
world’s petroleum supplies
are transported through giant
and large tankers, which start
their journeys from exporting
ports in producing countries to
importing countries’ ports.
ORGANIZATION OFARAB PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OAPEC)
joint Petroleum
Projects between
uAe & Algeria
he eng tarek Al mulla
3 international bid
rounds on oil and
natural gas exploration
in egypt in 2016
Saudi Arabia’s
vision 2030
10
OAPECMemberCountries
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EGYPT
HE ENG TAREK AL MULLA
3 INTERNATIONAL BID ROUNDS ON OIL AND
NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION IN EGYPT IN 2016
Egypt’s
Petroleum
and
Mineral Resources Minister HE
Eng Tarek Al Mulla announced
that theEgyptianpetroleumsector
will offer 3 new international bid
rounds in 2016 which include
27 onshore and offshore blocks
across Egypt. They will be
launchedby the endofApril2016
in 11 areas, 6 of which in the
WesternDesert and 5 in theGulf
ofSuez.
HE Al Mulla added in a
speech at the opening of the “8th
Conference for theMediterranean
Countries”, held recently in
Egypt,under theslogan“TheFirst
Step toExploreGas&Petroleum
Treasures in the Mediterranean”,
that his country is well-qualified
to play an effective role in energy
on a regional level due to having
all potentials to be a strategic
hub for the natural gas trade, in
cooperation with international
petroleum companies, since gas
has become an important factor
to face current and future energy
challenges.
The Minister numbered the
challenges facing the Egyptian
petroleum
sector
including
amending the energy subsidies
programme, aging infrastructure
and refineries, and accumulating
debts of foreign partners. He
explained that in the past two
years, the Egyptian government
has taken many measures to
overcome these challenges and
worked on increasing search,
exploration, and production
to secure sustainable energy
supplies for domestic and future
needs.
The Minister said that the
new gas discoveries in the
Mediterranean, crowned by
Dhahr Gas Field discovery in
collaboration with Italy’s Eni,
represent success stories of the
Egyptianpetroleum sector.These
new discoveries contribute to
boosting regional cooperation
in energy to secure safe energy
supplies at balanced prices.
They also help boosting energy
efficiency in theMediterranean.
He stressed the great
importance of using latest
technologies
in
resolving
production
problems
and
working on nationalizing these
technologiesthroughencouraging
scientific researchvia concluding
agreements
and
protocols
with Egyptian universities and
researchcentres to launchapplied
research on the petroleum and
natural gas industry.
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