Haitham Al Ghais, the Secretary General of OPEC, has written an op-ed for the Middle East Economic Survey whereby he criticises narratives that predict the end of oil.
Al Ghais said such predictions were not consistent with the evidence and could lead to dangerous policies that risk creating an energy crisis. He pointed out how we are still seeing the demand for oil rising and speculated about what would happen if investment in production did not keep pace.
Crude oil is of course not just used to make fuel but also many derived products, such as the Castrol OPTIGEAR gear oil used in industry and wind turbines. In his article, Al Ghais pointed out how many items in our everyday lives depend on oil, and:
“…without it we would not have gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, syringes, soap, computers, car tyres, contact lenses, artificial limbs, many types of medicine and much more. The fiberglass, resin and plastic needed to construct most wind turbines and the ethylene for solar panels would not exist either.”
The OPEC boss disputed predictions that the demand of oil could peak, or even fall by a quarter, by 2030, especially given that it is now only a few years away. The world’s demand for oil grew by 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, and forecasting agencies and OPEC itself expect this trend to continue. Al Ghais said that OPEC’s research indicated that stopping investments in oil production today could lead to a 16 million bpd supply deficit by 2030.
