The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, said oil will continue to be the fuel with the single largest share of the global energy mix by 2045, meeting 28% of energy demand. He was speaking at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi, where he presented OPEC’s World Oil Outlook (WOO).

Barkindo remarked today, when discussing the necessity for oil investment in order to meet long-term demand, that “any talk of the oil and gas industries being consigned to the past and of the need to halt new investments in oil and gas is wrong-headed.”

“Oil is expected to retain its number one position in the global energy mix and provide 28 percent of the world’s energy needs by 2045,” he said.

“Let me stress that the return of investments is a core objective of the Declaration of Cooperation,” he said, referring to the agreement of the OPEC+ group.

According to the outlook: “Despite decelerating oil demand growth in the second part of the forecast period and strong growth in other energy sources, such as other renewables, gas and nuclear, oil is expected to retain the highest share in the global energy mix during the entire period. In 2020, oil accounted for 30% of global energy requirements. Alongside post-pandemic oil demand recovery, the share of oil is anticipated to gradually increase to a level of more than 31% by 2025, before it begins a decline and reach 28% by 2045.”