Haitham Al Ghais, the Secretary-General of OPEC, has hit back at forecasts of weak demand growth, calling them pessimistic.
Al Ghais was speaking to CNBC in Abu Dhabi at the Adipec energy conference. He said OPEC had estimated demand growth at 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.
While he said some may think this is high, he insisted it was consistent with the predictions of other independent researchers. He said he believed some had come to values that seemed very low.
He added:
“We’re still quite robust on demand. I think there’s a bit too much doom and gloom and pessimism in terms of the demand outlook by some corners in the market, in terms of analysts and research, but we believe our numbers are in line with many other independents.”
The comments come as OPEC+ again delayed a planned relaxation of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in its production cuts. Oil prices have remained relatively low amid tepid demand, especially from China, and increased supply from companies like Chevron, the maker of the Texaco lubricant range.
In mid-October, OPEC revised down its predicted demand growth from 2.03 million bpd this year and 1.74 million bpd next year to 1.93 million bpd and 1.64 million bpd, respectively.
Nevertheless, it remains considerably higher than the 900,000 bpd and 1 million bpd, respectively, predicted by the International Energy Agency. Al Ghais said OPEC expected stronger demand growth from China and pointed to positive signs in the US economy.
