DOHA, April 13 (KUNA) -- Qatari Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah al-Attiya indicated on Monday that his country was reviewing its oil policy including cancellation of some oil projects in the light of the steep slide of oil prices prompted in a great part by the recent global financial crisis.
Addressing a two-day forum here on energy, he bemoaned the fact that the crisis might affect the oil industry worldwide in a way that would lead to cutbacks in production and in reduction of the labor force, as was the case in the mid-eighties of the last century.
The oil industry in Qatar, he said, was among the fastest growing oil industries and the question of attracting a well-trained work force to run it was parmount on the minds of Qatari oil officials.
Over the past eight years the number of oil workers in Qatar has increased by 73 percent and the number of energy-based companies shot up by 181 percent, he said as he underlined that it was the international oil firms which first complained about dwindling numbers of oil technicians worldwide, and that complaint came during the 10th international energy forum which was held in Qatar in 2006.
This fear over the lack of availability of qualified workers in the energy field was also the focus of an energy forum held in Rome, Italy, 2008 for ministers of oil whose countries are members in the regular meetings of that forum.
The current forum in Doha will seek solutions facing the oil industry worldwide, among them boosting cooperation between oil and energy companies and ministries of oil and members of academia. (end) ma.ajs KUNA 132106 Apr 09NNNN