Novak: Investments in global energy to fall 18–20% in 2020

MOSCOW, Oct 19 (PRIME) -- Investments in energy in the world will fall by 18–20% in 2020, which is significantly more than a reduction in demand for the year, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Monday during a meeting of the OPEC+ ministerial monitoring committee held in a video format.

“It is already clear that this year investment in the energy sector will decline significantly and will fall, according to estimates, by about 18–20%, which is significantly higher than the decline in demand for the whole year,” Novak said.

The recovery in oil demand in the world has slowed down due to the second wave of coronavirus, but has not completely stopped, the minister said.

“Despite the existing stability today, we see a lot of uncertainties. The virus has already caused colossal damage to many sectors of the economy, including the oil sector. We see how difficult the recovery is going on, we see many uncertainties that prevent a return to pre-crisis indicators of the economy and global consumption oil raw materials,” Novak said.

“The initial restrictions definitely reduced the aggregate demand for energy resources, but after they were weakened, the recovery started unevenly compared to the pre-crisis period, now this process has slowed down due to the second wave of coronavirus, but has not fully reversed,” he said.

The market situation remains fragile, therefore OPEC+ must fully implement the transaction, while Russia, in turn, intends to improve and strengthen this format and counts on the same approach of other participating countries, Novak added.

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