Oil industry needs to invest USD 11 trillion to meet demand through to 2040, OPEC says

Anca Alexe 24/09/2018 | 08:55

OPEC’s annual outlook report says that the oil industry will need to make about USD 11 trillion in investments over the next two decades in order to meet the world’s growing appetite for crude oil, CNBC reports.

In OPEC’s vision for the future, oil demand continues to grow and crude still has the largest share of the energy mix, even if the popularity of electric vehicles grows. OPEC has warned for years that oil producers shouldn’t get complacent about investing in future production, as spending on new output dropped significantly in 2015-16 during a historic fall in oil prices.

“While investments picked up slightly in 2017 compared to the previous two years, and the expectations are for higher levels again in 2018, it is vital that as an industry we ensure there is timely and adequate investment so as not to lead to a supply shortage in the future,” OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said in OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2018.

By 2040, OPEC sees the world consuming nearly 112 million barrels a day, with the highest growth happening in the upcoming years.

The biggest driver of consumption will be a boom in the number of vehicles in China, India and other parts of Asia. OPEC forecasts that the world’s vehicle fleet will more than double to 2.4 billion vehicles by 2040.