Global Oil Sector Needs Sustainable $12.6trn Investment—OPEC

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said the global oil sector will need a cumulative investment of $12.6 trillion in the upstream, midstream and downstream through to 2045.

The Secretary-General of the organisation, Mr Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, gave the forecast at the 31st meeting of the Energy Charter Conference held via videoconference on Thursday.

According to Mr Barkindo, the investment will be vital for improving the efficiency of the industry.

“The objective behind our actions is the pursuit of a sustainable stable market in the interests of producers and consumers. This is essential to attract the levels of investment necessary to meet the oil demand of the future,” he said.

Referencing OPEC’s recently-published World Oil Outlook 2020, he said oil demand in transportation is an illustrative example, adding that between 2019 and 2045, improved fuel efficiency is expected to be responsible for a decline in demand of 8.6 million barrels per day.

“In the OECD, this will be 4.4. mb/d. In both cases, this amounts to more demand reduction than that achieved by penetration by alternative fuel vehicles,” he said.

“It is worth recalling that energy efficiency requires efficiency improvements in both demand and supply. It is often said that digitalization is one of the most effective means of unlocking energy efficiency improvements.

“OPEC is extremely supportive of measures to improve data transparency, particularly through our proactive role in the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.

“Additionally, we organise a multitude of meetings with our partners on the issue of data transparency, including with the IEA and IEF, as well as secondary source reporting agencies. Our aim is to constantly improve the accuracy and timeliness of data,” Mr Barkindo stated.

The OPEC chief also said the group believes that dialogue between consumers and producers is critical to improving efficiency, stressing that, “For this reason, we have an extensive range of formalised, international dialogues with a broad range of partners. These offer indispensable platforms for exchanging views, providing clarity, and finding mutually beneficial solutions.”