The global oil market has reached the bottom of the cycle in terms of oversupply, according to UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazroui.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) in Abu Dhabi on 7 November, Al-Mazroui said there was more optimism in the market than at the same time last year.

“The glut is almost gone from where it was one year ago, and this is a positive thing for us to think about. I think we are at the bottom of this cycle,” said the minister.

Al-Mazroui urged the global oil sector to continue to invest in exploration and production in order to avoid price spikes and instability in the coming years.

“Abu Dhabi will continue to invest in the resource, but in a smart way. We need to optimise the refining cost and production cost of every barrel we produce,” he said.

Abu Dhabi is aiming to increase crude production by 400,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 3.5 million b/d by 2018, from the current official output of about 3.1 million b/d.