The United Arab Emirates' new energy minister, Mohammed al-Hamili, vowed on Sunday to stick with the Gulf Opec producer's policy of supplying enough crude oil to help ensure market stability. "The UAE's oil policy will continue unchanged," Hamili told reporters after being sworn into the country's new cabinet. "The UAE continues its obligations in providing adequate crude oil supplies to realise stability in world oil markets and the global economy and in the interests of producers and consumers."
The UAE has an official Opec production quota of 2.356 million barrels per day (bpd), but is pumping just under 2.5 million to help cool record high oil prices hovering near $50.
Veteran oil man Hamili was tapped three weeks ago to replace Obaid bin Saif al-Nasseri, appointed in 1997, and run an expanded portfolio that combines oil, electricity and water.
"This shows that the UAE is moving towards realising co-operation and connection between these sectors to make the best use of its resources," said 51-year-old Hamili, most recently director of marketing and refining at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC).
Hamili, who served as the UAE's Opec governor from 1994 to 2002, said Abu Dhabi would continue to co-operate with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other energy-related organisations.
Hamili is also a committee member of the Supreme Petroleum Council, which sets oil policy in the UAE, a core Gulf Opec member along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The three are the only Opec countries boasting spare production capacity.
The UAE holds 98 billion barrels of oil reserves, close to 9 percent of the world's total. The country's oil wealth is concentrated in the capital Abu Dhabi.
Hamili is chairman of the National Gas Shipping Co and of the Abu Dhabi National Tanker Co. He is also board member of ADNOC-Distribution, the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co and the International Petroleum Investment Co.
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