OPEC expects global energy demand to jump by 23% by 2045

Global primary energy demand is expected to surge by 23% by 2045, OPEC’s Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on July 11, adding that all sources will be needed to meet that growing demand.

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“Global primary energy demand is forecast to increase by a significant 23% in the period up to 2045, which means we will need all forms of energy,” Al Ghais said at a petroleum conference in Nigeria, as carried by Reuters.

Oil will continue to play an important role in the future of the energy mix, OPEC and its secretary general have said in recent months. Meeting oil demand alone would need as much as $12.1 trillion in investments in the industry by 2045, Al Ghais said. But the industry is not on track to reach this level of investments yet, he added.

During a speech in Malaysia last month, OPEC’s secretary general said that “In OPEC’s World Oil Outlook (WOO), we see global energy demand increasing by 23% through 2045, and I see no credible way to address this without utilizing all available energy sources, and with energy market stability as a guiding light.”

“Gas, hydro, nuclear, hydrogen and biomass will also expand, but, it is clear that oil will remain an integral part of the mix,” Al Ghais added.

OPEC’s outlook to 2045 sees global oil demand rising to 110 million barrels per day (bpd) by then, and oil would still represent about 29% of the energy mix in 2045.

Investments in the oil industry alone need to be $500 billion each year between now and 2045, for a cumulative $12.1 trillion through 2045, Al Ghais noted.

“All industry policymakers and stakeholders need to work together to ensure a long-term investment-friendly climate, with sufficient finance available. One that works for producers and consumers, as well as developed and developing countries,” Al Ghais said at the end of June.