Fear strikes the Kingdom! Saudi Oil Minister Urges Caution on Renewable Energy

April 1, 2009 at 7:12 pm

(Source: Green, Inc. – New York Times via AutoBlogGreen )

Al-Naimi

Fears about energy security, and last year’s oil price spike, have sparked a serious push for renewable energy in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer.

The trend is apparently making the world’s largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, nervous.

Speaking at a major energy conference earlier this month, Ali Al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, offered an impassioned defense of oil, which he called “an enabler of progress and prosperity.” He cautioned that the current economic crisis — and the uncertainties over future oil consumption — could force producers to trim their supplies, and hence could cause a new price shock.

Mr. Naimi also offered his strongest public criticism against the drive for alternative fuels — which he referred to as “supplemental” energy — and the inconsistent policies of consuming countries. Although he never once mentioned either the United States or President Obama by name, these were clearly his targets.

But as I listened to the speech carefully again this week, it also struck me as one of the most important discourses on the economics of petroleum made by a senior oil official in recent times.

A video of the session is available here — though it takes a while to get through other speakers. (The relevant parts start around the ninth minute and last about 20 minutes.)

Mr. Al-Naimi, without doubt the most influential spokesman for the petroleum industry, began his address by praising the virtues of oil, the mainstay of the Saudi economy for 60 years.

“Oil is expected to retain its leading position as the world’s largest single source of energy,” Mr Al-Naimi said.

An article on AutoBlogGreen says:  “Court disaster.” “Catastrophic.” “In their infancy.” These are logical statements for someone who represents the Saudi oil industry, but it sure sounds like someone is working hard to dial down expectations for anything that threatens the dominance of oil. 

Thanks to AutoBlogGreen for pointing to a video on OPEC’s website featuring Mr. Naimi’s speech (starting at minute 9 in the video).

Driving or Riding in an Ethanol-Powered Vehicle Could Be Sin: Islamic Scholar Opines

February 25, 2009 at 2:33 pm

(Source: TreeHugger)

ethanol filling station photo

photo: Morris K Udall Foundation via flickr

Add another twist to the discussion of reasons to take objections to biofuels: Saudi scholar, Sheikh Mohamed al-Najimi has expressed his opinion that under Islamic law the use of ethanol could be considered a sin, as it is a form of alcohol:

This opinion is based on a statement by “the prophet that prohibited all kinds of dealings with alcohol including buying, selling, carrying, serving, drinking, and manufacturing.” (Al Arabiya via Biofuels Forum)

Sheikh Mohamed, who’s a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, stressed that this opinion was his own, was not a fatwa, and urged Islamic leaders to study the issue. Furthermore, the ban should extend beyond predominantly Muslim countries, to include Saudi and Muslim youth studying abroad who may ride in vehicles powered by biofuels.

Click here to read the entire article.