OPEC sees growth in fossil fuel demand for the next 20 years
OPEC Secretary General Hathaim Al Ghais describes an IEA report projecting that oil demand will peak by 2029 as 'dangerous commentary'
OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais. (Photo: Getty Images)
Amid global efforts to move away from fossil fuels, the world’s biggest oil producers see continued growth in demand for at least the next 20 years.
OPEC Secretary General Hathaim Al Ghais offered a peek at the bloc’s long-term forecast in a response to the International Energy Agency’s report on Wednesday that projects oil demand peaking by 2029 and leveling off at around 106 million barrels per day towards the end of the decade, Reuters reports.
The OPEC chief, writing in Energy Aspects, called the IEA report “dangerous commentary, especially for consumers, [that] will only lead to energy volatility on a potentially unprecedented scale.”
Al Ghais said similar narratives had been proven wrong previously, such as the IEA suggesting gasoline demand had peaked in 2019 or that coal demand had peaked in 2014.