Saad Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, has called for a new global energy order that keeps energy above politics and prevents it from becoming a target of conflict.

He made the call during the 17th International Energy Forum Ministerial Meeting in Riyadh, held under the theme “Energy Security - A Shared Responsibility: Market Fundamentals, Supply Chain Resilience, and the New Dynamics of Demand and Supply.”

The meeting was opened by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Energy Minister, and brought together energy ministers, government representatives, industry leaders and international organisations.

Al-Kaabi began his remarks by expressing Qatar’s “unwavering solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia its leadership and people during these times.”

“Furthermore,” he added, “I offer my sincere condolences to the families of those killed in these horrible attacks and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

He described the regional conflict as causing what is, “by far, the world’s worst energy crisis,” disrupting the flow of around 20 per cent of global hydrocarbon supplies.

He said energy assets across the region had been targeted, resulting in tens of billions of dollars in damage and significant volatility in global markets.

“If there is one lesson we have learned from the past few months, it is that energy security, as critical as it is to the global economy, remains highly vulnerable and inseparable from geopolitical security,” Al-Kaabi added.

The minister also highlighted the crisis’s wider humanitarian implications, noting that one billion people still lack access to electricity, while approximately four billion depend on food produced using manufactured fertilisers.

He said: “the impact on all those lives should remind us of our shared responsibility to safeguard energy security, protect the free flow of energy, and keep energy above politics and conflicts.”

Al-Kaabi urged the forum to explore every possible avenue to protect energy infrastructure during conflicts, warning that such facilities had increasingly become both economic assets and military targets.

“It is a real problem that energy infrastructure has become both an economic asset and a strategic military target. Energy security must unite us, not divide us. It must be protected, not weaponised.” -OGN/TradeArabia News Service