OAPEC approves draft budget for FY ''13

The 89th session of the ministerial conference, of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) approved here on Saturday the draft budget of the regional cartel and its arbitration commission for FY 2013 amounting to KD 2.102 million (USD 7.5 million). The session was chaired by Algerian Minister of Energy and Mining Youcef Yousfi, OAPEC Secretary General Abbas Ali Al-Naqi told KUNA after the meeting. "The conferees were apprised of the candidacies for the OAPEC Scientific Research Award for 2012 themed 'technical development of exploration and exploitation of unconventional natural gas resources in Arab countries,'" Al-Naqi revealed. "The First Prize of the award, worth KD 7,000 (some USD 25,000) was withheld this year, while the Second Prize, worth KD 5,000 (about USD 18,000), was co-chaired by Ahmad Ali Abdulmajid, Mohammad Khalid Khalifa and Ahmad Mahmoud Shehata, of Egypt," he pointed out. Al-Naqi added that the conferees approved extended the term of Al-Bassam and Partners Office as auditor for the OAPEC Secretariat and arbitration commission for 2013. The ministers of oil of QAPEC member states reviewed a range of the cartel's activities over the last year, including the launching of the databank, the efforts to protect environment and curb the climate change, and the symposiums and meetings on the development of the oil and gas industry. They congratulated the State of Qatar for successfully hosting the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the 8th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol between November 26 and December 8, 2012, Al-Naqi added. On behalf of the conferees, Al-Naqi thanked Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi for the hospitality offered to them and the efforts being made by Egypt to ensure the success of the organization. The conferees agreed to convene the coming session of the ministerial conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on December 21, 2013.