MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2023) The eight OPEC International Seminar is set to convene in Vienna on Wednesday, with high-level participants expected to focus on issues such as sustainable energy transition, energy security, investment, advanced technologies and economic diversification.
The two-day seminar will begin at the Hofburg Imperial Palace at 10 a.m. Vienna time (08:00 GMT).
OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais will address the seminar during an opening ceremony on Wednesday morning. Al Ghais will be joined by Antonio Oburu Ondo, the energy minister of Equatorial Guinea that holds the OPEC Presidency this year.
Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud will be the speaker at the special introductory session, scheduled to take place at 10:50 a.m.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Parviz Shahbazov, will take part in the ministerial session on market stability and energy security where certain trends in the current oil market and potential challenges, including excessive volatility, will be discussed. Al Mazrouei will also speak at the Thursday ministerial panel on diversifying energy economies.
Energy sustainability will be at the top of the agenda of the Wednesday high-level roundtable, with European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson expected to be among panelists speaking on the so-called trilemma of energy sustainability, which includes such aspects as energy security, energy affordability and the need to reduce carbon emissions.
Other participants of the roundtable include Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of French oil major TotalEnergies, Amin Nasser, the head of Saudi Arabian energy giant Aramco, and Mohamed Hamel, the secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, an intergovernmental organization based in Doha.
Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji, joined by his Kuwaiti, Iraqi and Libyan counterparts, is set to participate in the panel on investments, finance and inclusive petroleum growth strategies.
On Thursday, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla will address the "Pathways to Just Energy Transition" ministerial session. Angolan Petroleum Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo will take part in the session, among other prominent officials.
The organization has canceled accreditation for the seminar for reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. It is the second time that reporters from the three news organizations have been excluded from an OPEC event after the journalists were not invited to OPEC+ ministerial meetings in early June.
The event is taking place as two of the biggest oil exporters in the world � Russia and Saudi Arabia � have decided to extend their voluntary oil production cuts to August in an effort to boost prices. Riyadh announced on Monday that it would slash 1 million barrels per day (bpd), while Moscow followed suit with a 500,000 bpd cut. Algeria has also joined with a 20,000 bpd decrease in August.
