The U.S. will always play an important role in global energy markets, even though President Joe Biden is unlikely to be as talkative as President Donald Trump about oil, the UAE energy minister told CNBC on Trust Day.
“The United States is now very much involved … in its production, as this industry developed through oil and shale gas has created many jobs and created an economy on its own,” said Suhail al. -Mazrouei.
That will not change under the new U.S. president who plans to focus more on renewable energy and less on oil, he said.
At least President Biden and the new administration [will] to be vocal on Twitter or not … the role of the United States will always be important.
Suhail al-Mazrouei
UAE energy minister
President Trump used to post on Twitter about crude oil and even communicate with OPEC leaders in Saudi Arabia and Russia during last year’s oil price war. Biden is likely to take a different approach, but al-Mazrouei said the U.S. ‘s leading role in energy markets is likely to remain.
“At least President Biden and the new administration [will] be vocal on Twitter or not … the role of the United States will always be important, “he told CNBC ‘s Hadley Gamble on Tuesday as part of the Atlantic Council’ s virtual World Energy Forum.
Timeline for getting past the oil market
South Belridge Oil Field is the fourth largest oil field in California and one of the most fertile in the US
David McNew | Getty Images
Al-Mazrouei said there are still many barrels of oil and the market is not yet fair.
“We will continue to draw on the investments until we reach reasonable levels, and we hope that this will be achieved by clàr the timetable we have set, which is April 2022,” he said.
“I hope we can get there beforehand [that], “he said.” But we’ll say, even if it takes us … to that date, I think that gives us a balance. “
Oil prices have surpassed some vaccine expectations and production cuts, but are still down from pre-Covid levels and are expected to be just above $ 50 a barrel this year.
This week, the International Energy Agency cut the forecast for global oil demand in 2021, marking compliance with global Covid-19 issues and new locks that will prevent on mobility.
Brent crude international benchmark rose 0.81% at $ 56.35 Wednesday afternoon in Asia, while U.S. crude was up 0.96% at $ 53.49.
– Sam Meredith and Natasha Turak from CNBC contributed to this report.