The Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, said on Tuesday that global energy demand is expected to rise by 23% by 2045. Al Ghais made the remarks during an oil and gas conference in Nigeria.
“The global demand for energy is expected to increase significantly by 23% until 2045, meaning we will need all forms of energy,” Al Ghais stated. He further highlighted the role of innovative solutions in meeting this growing demand, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen projects, and the circular carbon economy which has received positive endorsement from the G20.
Al Ghais further stressed the need for substantial investment in the global oil sector, citing the figure of $12.1 trillion required over the same period. However, he warned that the sector is not currently on track to reach this level of investment.
In June, Al Ghais had predicted an increase in global oil demand to 110 million barrels per day, with total energy demand growing by 23% by 2045. Despite this, OPEC maintained its projections for global oil demand for this year, unchanged for the fourth month in a row, but cautioned about increasing uncertainty facing the global economy, with growth slowing in the second half of the year.
In its monthly report, OPEC anticipated global oil demand to rise by 2.35 million barrels per day or 2.4% in 2023. As countries worldwide continue to recover from the economic repercussions of the pandemic, the need for comprehensive strategies and robust investment to meet the growing demand for energy has never been more critical.
