Underinvestment in oil industry could lead to market imbalance — Novak
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister said that traditional accessible reserves are being depleted, while hard-to-recover reserves require significantly higher costs
BEIJING, November 25. /TASS/. Insufficient investment in the oil industry could result in a shortage of oil and a broader market imbalance, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the 7th Russia-China Energy Business Forum in Beijing.
"In this regard, there are risks of underinvestment in the oil sector. We are now seeing traditional accessible reserves being depleted, while hard-to-recover reserves require significantly higher costs. Therefore, if investment in the oil industry is not renewed in the near future, consumption will outpace supply and we will face a market imbalance," Novak said.
He added that leading global energy agencies have issued similar warnings.
OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais previously noted that the world needs to increase investment in energy, and that oil demand will grow to 123 mln bpd by 2050.