Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman criticized the way the International Energy Agency makes its calculations for oil demand and supply, pointing out that the IEA finally admitted that there are missing barrels of over 700 million.

The case of missing barrels is a combination of ”a third rate sequel of Blame it on Rio and Finding Nemo”, he said during a panel discussion at the International Petroleum Technology Conference 2022 in Riyadh.

Missing barrels is the gap between the change in inventory implied by global supply-demand balances and the observed change in inventory levels by commercial and government entities, adjusted for floating storage and oil in transit, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Questioning the authenticity of the missing barrels row, the minister said: “In January, they came up with a report of 730 million missing barrels. All of a sudden, they (the IEA) say they have found the missing barrels. Where is it? Being consumed in Saudi Arabia, ever since 2007? And the rest, somewhere in China or somewhere else.”

The minister also criticized the IEA for the contradiction of its recent recommendation for more investments in energy after previously being against such a move.