Low oil prices hindering development: PBIF

President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said low oil prices are hindering development in the world.

Low oil prices have not only reduced investment in the energy sector but they are also pushing the world into a new crisis of energy insecurity, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the world is increasingly relying on cheap oil and gas from the Gulf and the Middle East which is putting strain on reserves while leaving energy industries in the west bankrupt.

Banks are pulling back from lending to energy companies as global investments in the oil and gas sector continue to drop, he added.

The business leader said that the forex reserves of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have reduced by 36 billion dollars in last four months while the situation of other oil producing countries is also not very good.

The majority of the oil producing countries have seen wide budget deficits which has slowed growth and reduced demand, he said, adding that Middle East is bracing to regain lost ground to cover 66 percent of the global demand after 1970.

According to projections, China would be consuming five times fuel that US consumes by 2040 while half of the electricity in EU will be produced by renewable, he informed.

He said that by 2040 China and Japan would be producing 30 percent electricity through renewables while that ration in the US and India will stand at 25 percent which will reduce oil demand.