Oil demand growth to continue, no peak in sight, Opec Secretary General says

[CALGARY] Oil demand growth will remain robust over the next two and a half decades as the world population grows, Opec Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Tuesday.

The organization expects a 24 per cent increase in the world’s energy needs between now and 2050, with oil demand surpassing 120 million barrels per day over that time period.

That estimate is in line with the group’s 2024 World Oil Outlook.

“There is no peak in oil demand on the horizon,” Al Ghais said, speaking at the Global Energy Show in Calgary, Alberta.

He said Opec admired what Canada’s oil industry has done to increase its oil output in recent years.

Canada achieved record oil production in 2024, as the completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion boosted the ability of oil companies to get their product to market.

Danielle Smith, premier of Canada’s main oil-producing province of Alberta, has spoken of her desire to double the province’s oil and gas output by 2050.

Al Ghais said Opec has been consistent in warning of the dangers of inadequate global investment in oil and gas, given its forecast for demand growth.

He said failing to invest enough capital to meet projected demand growth risks undermining energy security and causing volatility for both producers and consumers, and added Opec believes there is a need for US$17.4 trillion in capital investment in the global energy sector over the next 25 years.

Opec+ is unwinding its output cuts at a faster pace than originally anticipated, lifting production by 411,000 barrels per day for May, June and July. The increases, along with concerns that US President Donald Trump’s trade war will weaken the global economy, have pressured oil prices in recent months.

Global Brent futures settled at US$66.87 a barrel on Tuesday.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday said it expected Brent oil prices to fall near US$60 a barrel by the end of the year and average US$59 a barrel next year, hitting US oil production.

Al Ghais on Tuesday also said Opec welcomed recent pushback against what he referred to as unrealistic climate goals that are overly focused on meeting specific deadlines. He said there is a need for countries to reduce emissions but stressed that should not mean picking and choosing between energy sources.

He said instead governments and companies should be looking for ways to reduce emissions from oil and gas through technologies such as carbon capture and storage. REUTERS