RIYADH: The campaign against oil and gas investments is shortsighted, said Saudi Arabia"s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as he inaugrates International Petroleum Technology Conference 2022 in Riyadh. "The net zero does not mean cherrypicking, net zero does not mean zero oil," says Prince Abdulaziz, adding that focusing only on renewables is a mistake. Saudi energy minister slammed the IEA for "missing barrels" that are around 730 million barrels. He also criticized the agency for its contradiction on its recommendations for more investments in energy last week in IEF"s event in Riyadh after it was against it. The Prince added that Saudi Arabia only needs technical support to reach it declared carbon neutrality target, without any need for financial assistance from any country. The event is also attended by energy and oil ministers from Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Iraq and Egypt. The ministers are speaking at a panel discussion. Turning to OPEC+ and its role in the market today Saudi energy minister said that the Chairman and CEOs of global oil companies would have vanished without OPEC+. OPEC+ agreement helped the market to be balanced, and it ensured that there is a mechanism for balancing the market, Kuwaiti oil minister said. Iraqi oil minister said that OPEC+ should sustain the current agreement and any dramatic change to it will affect the market balance. Key officials are also attending the opening session including Aramco"s chairman and the company"s CEO as well. The conference will be held through Feb. 23. The event is back to Saudi Arabia after two years. Last time in 2020 it was held in Dhahran. "And as a global recovery works to gain momentum … we gather once again to look at the road ahead … and chart the next steps in our journey," Nasir Al-Naimi, IPTC 2022 Executive Committee Chair and Senior Vice President, Upstream, Saudi Aramco said in his opening speech.