Qatar said on Tuesday that its economy would not be affected by the slide in oil prices, while a senior UAE government official declared that oil market fundamentals have not changed and Opec has not contributed to oversupply.

Qatar's Emir said that the Gulf state's economy would not be affected by lower oil prices, as its state budget was based on conservative assumptions.

"Dear brothers, we are currently facing a decline in the price of oil and fuel..." Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told a session of the country's Shura Council, an advisory body.

"I just would like to emphasise here that our economy is strong and solid, (and) will not be affected by such developments, and our budget is based on a very conservative estimate of the price of fuel."

Meanwhile, UAE energy minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrou said: "Fundamentals in the market didn't change, Opec didn't contribute to an oversupply ... We shouldn't panic.”

Asked who was oversupplying the market, the US or Russia, he replied: "We all know that this supply in the past years came from the revolution in shale oil and (if) you look at numbers you will find this."

"What worries us is that some investors are not going to continue to invest and in three years we will face difficulties finding enough investments in market,” he added, speaking at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.  - Reuters