KUWAIT CITY, April 20: Kuwait Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah on Tuesday said the current oil price is “good” and that he expected it to remain within the 75-90 dollars a barrel range.
“The oil price is good ... I think it will remain in the range of 75-90 dollars a barrel,” Sheikh Ahmad told reporters after opening a symposium on transparency in oil industries.
The minister however warned against speculation and volatility in crude prices.
“We hope the increase in the oil price will remain within a reasonable range and that there won’t be spikes like before,” he said.
“Hopefully, speculation will no longer play (a role) in the price of oil,” he said when asked about the impact of fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
Sheikh Ahmad said last week that OPEC would consider whether to boost supply if oil passed $100. The price hit a high of over $87 a barrel earlier this month.
The producer group has left supply targets unchanged since late 2008, when it announced record cuts to halt a slide in oil prices to near $32 a barrel.
Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah opens the 18th Annual Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference next week on the theme of “Oil Demand Recovery and Price Volatility: Growth Outlook in a Carbon Constrained World.”
KPC Tuesday announced the event would kick off April 25 and last till April 27, at the JW Marriott Hotel, Kuwait City. The press release said the participants in the event represent bodies and companies in over 50 countries and the venues thus offers a platform for fertile interaction and exchange of information and expertise. “Achieving the required transparency in the oil sector is considered one the most important factors needed for success in future plans and projects as it ensures that there that there isn’t any corruption or theft in revenue and resources,” Minister of Oil and Information, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah, said on Tuesday.
The minister affirmed that the lack of correct transparency in the oil sector will result in the disruption of important necessary projects amounting to billions of dollars needed for the advancement of the state.  Therefore the meaning of transparency has to be agreed upon as well as the best way to implement it.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Kuwait Transparency Society’s fourth forum entitled ‘Transparency in the Oil Industry’. Under the auspices of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the forum, which was held on April 20-21, included key sessions on transparency needs and solutions in Kuwait and was conducted by prominent oil sector and finance executives. 
The forum sessions included discussions on international oil transparency initiatives, targeted transparency in the oil sector, foreign investors’ need for transparency, oil sector governance and transparency and the ideal utilization of wealth.
Speaking on behalf of the Amir, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Dr Mohammed Mohsen Al-Afasi, said: “The Kuwaiti government has taken leading steps of reform since it has signed the UN convention against corruption in 2003. Kuwait was one of the first countries to sign this agreement which was re-enforced by the National Assembly and the Central Bank in 2008 by creating a governmental team as well as rules and regulations that fight corruption.”
Policies
Al-Afasi added that one of the largest reform operations the government has undertook is the developmental plan that will remain active until 2035 as well as the development plans of 2010-2013. “These ambitious projects agreed upon by the legislative and executive authorities are the forefront of the reform operations that is required by the modern state,” he said.
Furthermore, according to Al-Afasi, the government has also specified key polices in the development plan, through the Higher Committee of Planning, which include the necessary steps to establish legislations that revives transparency and fights corruption. This includes establishing official bodies that handle this important responsibility.
“The government and the national assembly during the current parliament sessions have also agreed upon a set of priorities which include creating anti-corruption laws. The oil sector is considered the main state resource and the government will not hesitate to support all those who have a hand in increasing the state’s standards and transparency in the organizations and companies that belong to this vibrant sector,” concluded Al-Afasi.
Chairman of Kuwait Transparency Society, Salah Al-Ghazali said that in 2003 Kuwait was the 35th country on the list of the most transparent countries in the world. Six years later, in 2009, Kuwait has become the 66th worldwide.
“Kuwait was one of the first countries to sign the UN anti-corruption agreement in 2003 and the National Assembly has established law number 47 in 2006 so that the UN agreement becomes part of the Kuwaiti legislation,” he said.
Al-Ghazali added that in order for Kuwait to continue fighting corruption, the society has prepared the information disclosure law as per the articles of the UN agreement and proposed it to the National Assembly with cooperation from a few MPs.
“The society has also prepared four laws that pertain to fighting corruption, financial disclosure, conflict of interest and protection of whistle blowers. The laws have all been proposed to the National Assembly with the assurance that they will be discussed,” he said.
The agreement was that these proposals will be discussed during the parliament session of Dec 9, 2009, however, according to Al-Ghazali, the session wasn’t carried out.
“We are asking for another date to discuss and implement these laws, hoping that the sessions will not conclude before making a decision because that will mean starting the eighth year since signing the UN convention without implementing it,” Al-Ghazali concluded.
Speaking on behalf of Dr Peter Eigen, Chairman of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), who was unable to attend due to the recent flight cancelations, Director of the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI), Karin Lissakers, said that governance of natural resources is one of the most difficult challenges facing the modern world.
“With good governance, the extraction of these resources can generate large revenues to foster growth and reduce poverty. Ensuring this requires trust-building, transparency and freedom to hold governments to account,” said Lissakers.
Governance
She added that we are all aware of what happens when governance is done wrong: resources extraction has led to poverty, conflict and corruption. Nearby, Iraq has suffered years of conflict, corruption and instability essentially around the control of its oil. Within this Gulf, Yemen is struggling to manage its bountiful resources.
“The EITI is an effort to make natural resources benefit all. It is a standard to strengthen governance by improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector. This is done through the publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining,” explained Lissakers.
It is reasonable that the citizens of a country have reasonable access to information about how much their government makes when national assets are sold off, she added; “32 countries are already well underway in implementing the EITI, with 32 different models of implementation yet one standard.”
According to Lissakers, Implementation of the EITI standard leads to a wide range of benefits including governmental benefits. “In many countries, revenues from oil, gas and mining create political and economic distortions and high expectations. Implementing the EITI builds governance capacity, improves international credibility and can lead to increased government revenue,” she said.
Lissakers added that honest and successful companies will also benefit from a level playing field and enhanced investment climate.