During the recently concluded G20 Energy Ministerial meeting in Goa, India, Haitham al Ghais, Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), stated that global energy needs will continue to rise due to expected growth in the world economy and population. He stated that energy demand is expected to rise by 23% by 2045.
He also stated that OPEC believes that the future requires investment in energy transitions that are inclusive of “all people, all fuels, and all technologies.”
According to him, OPEC is looking forward to working closely with the G20 to create a global energy future that is sustainable. During the G20 meeting in India last week, al-Ghais again emphasized the need for increased oil investment. He stated that the oil industry alone required $12.1 trillion in worldwide investments between now and 2045.
However, there have been increasing calls in recent years to stop subsidizing oil projects. According to OPEC estimates, if upstream developments were halted today, there would be a startling oil market gap of 16 million barrels per day (mb/d) between world demand and supply in just five years.
OPEC has long pushed increased oil exploration around the world in order to fulfill rising energy demand. However, OPEC member countries have recently advocated for oil development to be conducted with environmental considerations in mind
According to OPEC’s recently released Statistical Bulletin, global crude oil output will average 72.80 million barrels per day in 2022. This is a 5.0% year-on-year growth of 3.46 mb/d. Meanwhile, OPEC crude oil output increased by 2.53 million barrels per day (mb/d) year on year, or 9.6%, while non-OPEC crude production increased by 0.92 million barrels per day (mb/d) year on year, or 2.1%.
OPEC’s share in crude oil production will be 39.7% in 2022. This is up from 38% in 2021 and represents the biggest share since 2018. Meanwhile, global oil consumption climbed by 2.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2022, with OPEC oil demand accounting for a sizable portion of the rise.
Haitham al-Ghais emphasized during his G20 speech that, in addition to oil investments, OPEC-member nations are also investing heavily in renewables and hydrogen capacity, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and other technologies, as well as promoting the Circular Carbon Economy.
