Global markets to restore balance 2016, end of US oil exports ban will not affect market

Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Masrouei, Minister of Energy of the UAE, yesterday said the end of an oil export ban in the United States will not affect market fundamentals, the UAE Minister of Energy said on Tuesday.

"As for the decision in the US, every country has the right to take their own decisions. We don't see this will change the supply and demand balance," Al Masroui told reporters in Abu Dhabi after a meeting between ministry officials and strategic partners.

The US Congress' on Friday voted to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exporting US crude oil.

Minister Al Masrouei added that he hoped the oil market would balance during 2016 but the market would have to wait and see at what point of the year this would happen.

"The Ministry of Energy and its partners continue to carry out a new energy strategy that is in line with the 2021 Vision and includes lifting fuel subsidies and rationalising energy consumption."

The energy minister noted that the UAE energy ministry also plans to cut the use of natural gas in power generation to 70 per cent by 2021 as part of a national strategy to achieve sustainability.

The Federal Electricity and Water Authority in in talks with local governments to find a suitable site for its solar power project, Al Masrouei, who chairs the board of directors of the Authority, said.
Source: WAM