July 1 , 2025
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says its research estimates a huge oil market deficit of 23 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, if investment in the global upstream industry stops.
OPEC also said that global cumulative oil-related investments of 17.4 trillion dollars are required by 2050 to meet up the energy demand.
OPEC Secretary-General, Haitham Al Ghais disclosed this at the 24th Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week Conference and Exhibition held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Al Ghais said that to meet the world’s growing need for energy, investment levels in all energies must increase significantly.
He said OPEC’s World Oil Outlook saw global primary energy demand growing by 23 per cent between now and 2050.
This, he said would be driven by many factors, including demographics, urbanisation and economic growth.
“The global population is expected to rise from around 8.2 billion in 2024 to almost 9.7billion by 2050. This growth will be concentrated almost entirely in the non- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (non-OECD) region.
“Moreover, almost 1.9 billion people are expected to move to cities by 2050.
“This is equivalent to adding around 111 cities, the size of Lagos, or 452 cities, the size of Abuja, to the global urban landscape.
“While this will challenge energy infrastructure, it also represents an opportunity to mitigate energy poverty for the estimated 675 million people who remain without access to energy, and the 2.3 billion who lack clean cooking fuels.
“These trends alone demonstrate that accelerating global energy progress will clearly require all energies, especially hydrocarbons,” he said.
Al Ghais said OPEC’s World Oil Outlook expected oil to retain the largest share of the energy mix in 2050, at almost 30 per cent, while oil and gas were expected to remain above 50 per cent between 2024 and 2050.
He said crucially, developing countries – many of which still faced energy poverty and limited access to finance – must be allowed to utilise their natural resources to benefit their economies and people.
“Technological advances improve performance across the entire oil industry value chain.
“This is why OPEC Member Countries and national oil companies are driving technological innovation, with thousands of patents granted to the oil industry each year.
“Innovation fuels progress, enabling cleaner, more secure, and more affordable energy solutions,” the OPEC Secretary-General said.
The conference has the theme “Accelerating Global Energy Progress Through Investment, Partnerships and Innovation.” (NAN)
