Oil to hold sway in next five decades: OPEC

General Secretary of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Abdullah El-Badri said here Tuesday that fossil fuels represented by oil will still hold sway in the world energy consumption in the foreseeable future.

At a press conference held at the cartel's headquarters in Vienna celebrating the 50th anniversary since its establishment, he also pointed out that current oil reserves of the OPEC member states and the rest of the world can meet the global energy needs for the coming five decades.

However, the OPEC will face numerous challenges in the next few years. To overcome these challenges, the organization has to make great efforts in the aspects of high-tech application, deep sea oil drilling and workforce professionals training, he said.

Meanwhile, he stressed that the OPEC always encourages countries to develop alternative energy.

At the press conference, El-Badri also pointed out that before the establishment of the OPEC the world's oil market was dominated by the so called "Seven Sisters."Oil production and price practice were completely controlled by these seven oil magnates.

At that time, Iran, Venezuela, Iraq and other oil producing countries had no disclosure power in the oil price practice. This situation has changed since the establishment of the cartel which has made important contributions to the stability and prosperity of the global oil market, safeguarding the interest of oil producers and consumers, he added.

The OPEC was established on Sept. 14, 1960 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Its original member states include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Venezuela. With the increase in membership, the organization has been enlarged to its present number of 12.

Source: Xinhua