Arab News

RIYADH: Energy sector investments worth $14 trillion are needed to match the expected global oil demand of 116 million barrels per day by 2045, according to an OPEC expert.

Ayed Al-Qahtani, director of the research division of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said that the required funding translates to an average of $610 billion per year in the sector.

OPEC, in January, predicted oil demand to hit 106.21 mbpd in 2025, stating that crude use will keep rising for the next two decades.

Al-Qahtani made these remarks on the sidelines of the 10th joint workshop jointly organized by OPEC, the International Energy Forum, and the International Energy Agency in Vienna.

“Our latest World Oil Outlook puts cumulative oil-related investment requirements from now until 2045 at approximately $14 trillion, or around $610 billion on average per year. This massive spending will be required to meet global oil demand, which is expected to reach 116 million bpd by 2045,” said Al-Qahtani.

He added: “This must be an industry priority if we are to maintain security of supply and avoid unwanted volatility in the years ahead. We must continue to do everything we can to avoid volatility, and this includes speculative positioning, which can adversely impact the global oil market.”

Christof van Agt Ross, director of the IEF’s Energy Dialogue, said that continuous analysis is required to ensure the stability of the energy market.

“Though physical and financial energy market linkages are better understood and have become more transparent, they require constant analysis to support the stability of world energy markets in a rapidly changing world,” he explained.

Earlier in March, Haitham Al-Ghais, secretary-general of OPEC, said that calls to completely abandon oil and fully rely on renewable energy are wrong and unrealistic.

“If oil disappeared, this would also affect the production of renewable energy, such as manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels, as their production is linked to oil products,” he told Kuwait News Agency.

His concerns were echoed by Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., who used an address at the CERAWeek conference in Houston on March 19 to call for a new, realistic pathway for the energy transition that includes oil and gas.

“Despite the world investing more than $9.5 trillion on energy transition over the past two decades, alternatives have been unable to displace hydrocarbons at scale,” he said.