Published : Oct. 14, 2013 - 19:18
DAEGU ― The transaction in the global energy sector is pressing countries to diversify their energy sources, and even conventional market leaders such as the United Arab Emirates are no exception.
In order to take the current energy market to the next level, tight-knit cooperation with technology pioneer countries is crucial, according to the energy chief of the Gulf region alliance.
“The UAE has been gifted with oil and gas reserves, but it is only too clear in the fast-changing market that countries may no longer rely on a specific form of energy,” Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, the UAE’s minister of energy, told The Korea Herald in an interview.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei. (UAE)
The minister came here to attend the 2013 World Energy Congress as chief UAE delegate leading some 100 energy opinion leaders.
The conventional sources of energy will be insufficient while new sources may never fully substitute the old, which is why the various sectors have to compliment one another, he said.
“It is in fact each government’s role to strategically decide the percentage of each energy sector.”
The UAE’s target is to boost the proportion of its nuclear and renewable energy up to 25 percent and 7 percent respectively, according to the minister.
Such an active stance over the nuclear-generated power consequently brought Korea to the center of the UAE government’s attention, as Korea is a highly reliable partner in nuclear business cooperation, he added.
“Korean companies are already building nuclear reactors in the UAE, and our already-close ties will last as long as they operate in the area,” Al Mazrouei said.
The $20 billion project is currently on schedule, with the first two reactors under construction, scheduled to kick off in year 2017 and 2018 respectively.
The minister also shook off the safety concerns which have been sweeping across the world since an unprecedented earthquake-caused tsunami devastated Japan’s Fukushima region back in 2011.
“After the Fukushima disaster, we implemented a thorough review on the design and maintenance of our ongoing nuclear projects and felt comfortable with the results,” he said.
In fact, it was ironically the negative example which aroused the general sense of alert and consequently reinforced the level of safety in the nuclear sector, he also said.
“Our nuclear reactors, once completed, will be one of the safest and newest nuclear facilities, with a minimum time gap of 12 years with the currently existing ones,” he said.
Backed by its powerful oil and gas market and aiming to expand further into new sectors, the UAE confirmed on Sunday that it shall bid to host the 2019 World Energy Congress.
“Should we succeed, we will become the first among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to host the event,” the UAE minister said.
“As a leading member of OPEC, it is our role to see that the world energy market is well supplied and operated and we believe this may be achieved through the WEC platform.”
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)