This won’t win me any friends among the green lobby, but Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman is right to warn of a potential energy crisis resulting from falling investment in fossil fuels. Here’s why.
The prince warned that worldwide oil production could fall by 30 million barrels a day by the end of the decade because there is not enough being spent on the exploration for and development of new resources. That implies production of less than 70 million barrels a day.
Of course, he is talking his own book. The kingdom holds vast reserves of oil beneath its sands and under the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf — and it wants to see a healthy market for that oil for years to come.
But his warning isn’t entirely self-serving. Saudi Arabia’s oil riches aren’t open to foreign investors, so his call for more spending is actually aimed at encouraging competition with the kingdom.
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