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OPEC Projects Demand to Top 120 Million Barrels Daily by 2050, Criticizes IEA Flip-Flops

The projection highlights deepening discord with the International Energy Agency over the scale and timing of oil industry investments.

The Secretary General of OPEC, Haitham al-Ghais, speaks to the Global Energy Show in Calgary on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
 Delegates listen to a panel discussion on the trade show floor at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
 Delegates explore the trade show floor at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
 Delegates explore the trade show floor at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Overview

  • Haitham al-Ghais said global primary energy demand will surge 44% by 2050, leaving oil as about 30% of the energy mix despite growth in renewables.
  • He warned that meeting this demand hinges on timely investment in new oil projects and criticised the IEA’s reversals on investment guidance.
  • OPEC+ plans to raise production by 411,000 barrels per day in July, accelerating the unwinding of previous output cuts.
  • Research firm S&P Global expects demand growth this year to be the weakest since 2001 and warns an oversupplied market could drive oil prices into the upper US$40 range.
  • Al-Ghais dismissed net-zero targets as detached from reality and called for pragmatic policies that leverage carbon capture, renewables and oil to reduce emissions.