Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has called upon the oil industry to get united and be more vocal in the face of criticism that the industry is a major polluter.

He said this to a gathering of delegates at the Middle East Oil, Gas and Geoscience show held in Bahrain as part of the dialogue on ‘Supply, demand, and oil price: How to find balance in a volatile market’ with media person Eithne Treanor, writes Abdulaziz Khattak for OGN energy magazine.

Al Ghais was unapologetic about the role of oil in global growth.

“We really have an industry we should be proud of. I mean, for decades, this (oil) industry has been the source of economic development globally, and industrialisation. Just look around you in this room; everything we have today is derivatives of oil and petrochemicals,” he said.

The oil and gas industry is facing increasing pressure to transition and reduce carbon emissions. Investments in the sector have plummeted while geopolitical events challenge a limited pool of resources.

On the other hand energy demand is increasing and will rise by almost 25 per cent from now until 2045, Al Ghais said.

He said the global oil sector requires $12.1 trillion investment by 2045. That’s $500 billion annually. 

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