October 2015-E

15 / 40

OAPEC Activities
Volume 41 Issue 1015
the stances of developing and developed
countries during the negotiations. The lecturer
explained that the period between 2009 and
2015 could be considered an interim period
for the UNFCCC, especially with regards
to the INDCS contribution of the USA and
developing countries.
He clarified that the IPCC is the driving
force for the UNFCCCs. The lecturer also
gave a description of the general features of
the expected Paris 2015 agreement in light
of the announced stances by the international
organizations and what was agreed during the
regular meetings of the parties.
The lecturer concluded his presentation by
underscoring the importance of maintaining the
UNFCCC basic principles, that is, adaptation,
mitigation, funding, technology transfer, and
capability building.
Current and Future Developments in the
World’s Petroleum Markets
Dr Ibrahim Al Muhanna, Advisor to the
Saudi Petroleum and Mineral
Resources Minister, gave
a lecture in which he
reviewed the current
situation and future trends
of the world petroleum
market. He also enumerated
the most influential factors
affecting the world petroleum market and their
implications for the petroleum producing and
exporting countries. He mentioned various
reasons for the current drop in oil price; they
are:
• Current status of the world economy,
especially in connection to the economic
recession in some major economies like
China, the shrinking status of the Indian
economy, the unclear picture of the US
economy, and the major economic crises
like that of Greece.
• Whatever relevant to market fundamentals
like supply and demand, especially with
the major shifts in the world oil market and
the abundant oil supply due to the hike of
US shale oil production and oil production
in some Middle Eastern countries.
• Political developments in some oil
producing and exporting countries in the
Middle East.
• Investors’ perceptions on the future
developments of the petroleum market.
The lecturer indicated that there were a
group of interrelated factors that contributed
to the growth of the world energy demand
and consumption including: the growing
population of the world which is expected to
hit 8 billion people by 2025, the annual world
economy growth by about 3.5% (especially in
Asia, Africa, and South America), increasing
individual income (middle class) in emerging