Abu Dhabi - Part 4 - The Decision Makers.

Decision making in Abu Dhabi for oil or gas policies involves a small number of people grouped in the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC). The number of young Abu Dhabian university graduates joining the decision makers is increasing steadily. Dubai and the other UAE emirates do not abide by Abu Dhabi's commitments to OPEC or to OAPEC decisions. Dubai's oil production has declined, due to field depletion, and is expected to fall below 200,000 b/d before end-1999. This compares with 420,000 b/d during the 1990 Gulf crisis. Its oilfields are offshore, operated by a consortium under Conoco of the US and including Total Fina. Dubai has gas/condensate reserves onshore which have been developed for limited production by Arco Dubai (see survey of Dubai and the other UAE emirates in Vol. 50). Obaid Bin Saif Al Nasseri: The UAE's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Nasseri tries to co-ordinate petroleum policies among the seven emirates of the federation. But in OPEC or OAPEC meetings, he actually represents the emirate of Abu Dhabi. On the federal level, he is nominally in charge of the domestic petroleum market. The Dubai-based federal entity Emirates General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) is under his ministry. Nasseri is a technocrat from the powerful Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). He became oil minister after a federal cabinet reshuffle in late March 1997, succeeding Rakad Bin Salem Bin Rakad who had been acting oil minister since June 1995. Usually, Abu Dhabi backs the Saudi line in OPEC decision making. Nasseri was OPEC president until Nov. 26, 1998. In recent weeks he has sympathised with the call of Kuwaiti Oil Minister Shaikh Saud Nasser Al Sabah for an OPEC meeting in mid-February to decide on further production cuts so that oil prices are restored from their record low. Shaikh Saud had warned that, unless OPEC took credible action, oil prices could fall to $5/barrel and the member states would face severe financial crises. But Saudi Arabia has blocked the call, saying it wants better compliance with existing cuts in oil production. OPEC's ministerial meeting is scheduled for March 23.