Oil market needs $14 trillion, says OPEC Secretary General

The global oil market will require $14 trillion in investments over the next 20 years if oil-producing nations hope to be able to fulfill global energy demands through 2045, OPEC’s Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais said on Tuesday.

According to the Secretary-General who spoke at India Energy Week in Goa, oil demand “will continue to rise and there is a need to ensure that supply is maintained.”

Al-Gais added that globally, energy demand would rise between now and 2045 by 23 percent.

India’s oil demand is expected to double by 2045 to 38 million bpd from its current 19 million bpd, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said early at the event. “India’s oil demand is expected to increase to 38 million barrels per day by 2045 from the current 19 million barrels. India is consistently growing its energy capacity. We aim to increase the share of natural gas to 15% of primary energy missfrom 6 % now. By 2030, the refining capacity will be at 450 mtpa in India,” Modi said.

Al-Ghais was also vocal about oil’s place among the energy sources even as far out as 2045, saying that even as many nations around the world look to triple their renewable energy capacity, no single renewable source will be able to carry the weight of the global energy demand growth.

“We need to invest (in oil) to be able to ensure the security and reliability of the supply is maintained,” Ghais said. Energy ministers from oil-booming Guyana and natural gas-abundant Qatar have said that while there is a need to bring renewable energies into the oil and gas sector, phasing out conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels is still a long way away.