OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais stated that OPEC expects global oil demand to increase by 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.
Al-Ghais emphasized the need for all energy sources globally, stating, “Discrimination in this field is unacceptable. Yes, there are harmful emissions that need to be reduced, but we often see the oil industry portrayed unfairly.”
Critiquing the speculation surrounding production agreements within the OPEC+ group, which comprises some non-OPEC producing countries, Al-Ghais noted, “Whenever we make one announcement or another, the public is not happy. It is difficult to know which story some actors want to hear. Nevertheless, it is important for us to focus on what really matters, the fundamentals.”
Al-Ghais underscored that these fundamentals are “economic growth, supply, and demand.”
Regarding global oil demand, Al-Ghais said, “We expect global oil demand to increase by 2.2 million barrels per day this year. There was a daily increase of 2.3 million barrels in the first quarter of 2024, and typically, the first quarters are periods when demand is lowest.”
Al-Ghais pointed out OPEC’s successful prediction of oil demand in 2023, stating, “Critics of our forecasts have had to revise their own nearly every month until their predictions were nearly on par with ours.”
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source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç