The International Energy Agency (IEA) should be “very careful” about undermining oil investments, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) warned in a statement released on April 27.

Haitham Al Ghais, Opec’s general secretary, said that the IEA’s criticisms of the cartel, which is composed of 13 of the world’s oil-producing countries, are misguided. “Blaming oil for inflation was erroneous and technically incorrect,” he stated in the release.

“If anything will lead to future volatility it is the IEA’s repeated calls to stop investing in oil, knowing that all data-driven outlooks envisage the need for more of this precious commodity to fuel global economic growth and prosperity in the decades to come, especially in the developing world,” he added.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, previously told Bloomberg that Opec should be “very careful”, as higher oil prices translate into a weaker global economy and a hampered green transition. “Upward inflation is the last thing we want to see,” he said.

ExxonMobil approves $12.7bn Guyana project

US energy major ExxonMobil has approved the fifth project in its Stabroek offshore oil block off the coast of Guyana, according to a company statement on April 26, as it ploughs more capital into developing the country’s oil and gas sector. 

The $12.7bn Uaru project is expected to start production in 2026 and produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil daily. ExxonMobil operates the offshore block Stabroek, where Uaru is located, as well as the Canje and Kaieteur blocks. In 2015 the company made the first significant offshore oil discovery in Guyana.

“Our fifth, multi-billion-dollar investment in Guyana exemplifies ExxonMobil’s long-term commitment to the country’s sustained economic growth,” Liam Mallon, president of the ExxonMobil Upstream Company, said in the statement.

MM Group upgrades Poland plant

Austrian cartonboard manufacturer MM Group said in a statement on April 26 that it will make a strategic investment of €660m over the next three years to upgrade its facility in Kwidzyn in northern Poland.

The investment comprises three parts: a new recovery boiler and steam turbine to reduce the company’s costs and carbon footprint; a second pulp line and a pulp dryer; and upgrades of its machines to accommodate its move into the sack kraft paper market and away from copy paper. MM Kwidzyn is the company’s largest board and paper mill.

And finally: Japan’s government will provide Y150bn ($1.1bn) in subsidies to support a Y400bn battery cell project to be developed by the country’s Honda Motor and battery maker GS Yuasa, Nikkei reported on April 27.