There is no peak oil demand on the horizon,” says Opec Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais in the foreword to the group’s World Oil Outlook (WOO) 2024 released this week. Indeed, Opec now sees global demand rising faster and higher than ever before, with the growth continuing out to at least 2050.
After extending its outlook out to 2050, Opec sees demand hitting a record 120.1mn b/d at the midpoint of the century in its Reference Case scenario. This puts it at odds with most other long-term outlooks, with the IEA for instance forecasting global oil demand peaking at 102mn b/d before 2030 in its central Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) (MEES, 27 October 2023). ExxonMobil, which also this week released its 2050 outlook, also forecasts demand continuing to increase out to 2050, but its 2% total increase between 2023-2050 is much less than Opec’s 17.5% growth forecast. (CONTINUED - 807 WORDS)
