OPEC rejects IEA's projection of oil demand peaking this decade

It is a ‘challenge’ to predict oil demand peaking by 2030, OPEC’s secretary general Haitham Al Ghais said in response to the IEA report indicating that oil demand is expected to peak by the end of this decade.

PHOTO: Flags of OPEC member countries. Getty Images

Al Ghais argued that no dependable short- or medium-term oil demand forecast indicates a peak in demand by the end of the current 10-year period, which is "a mere six years away."

“Throughout history, repeated predictions of peak oil supply have repeatedly been moved further into the future, and at ever-higher levels,” Al Ghais said.

The oil-producers coalition anticipates continued growth in oil demand in the upcoming years, differing from agencies such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), which forecasts a peak in fossil fuel demand by 2030, as the world shifts towards cleaner energy and adopts more electric vehicles.

“Today’s demand level has also moved well past pre-COVID-19 levels, with some forecasters suggesting at the start of the pandemic that oil demand levels would never again surpass those seen in 2019,” Al Ghais said.

OPEC sees world oil demand to reach 116 million b/d by 2045, it said in its World Oil Outlook 2023 report.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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