OPEC chief says underinvestment in oil, gas sector could trigger market volatility

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said that underinvesting in the oil and gas sector could cause market volatility in the long term and imperil growth.

He also said the world needs to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions rather than replacing one form of energy with another, stressing that major investments were needed in all energy sectors.

“That is the truth that needs to be spoken,” Al Ghais told at the Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference in Dubai.

OPEC estimates that the world needs $12.1 trillion in investments to meet rising oil demand in the long term.

With global oil demand growth at around 8 million barrels per day (bpd), the world could face a supply problem as Western sanctions on Russian oil curtail production growth, Fereidun Fesharaki, chairman of the FGE Consultancy, said at the same event.

Russia can maintain production at around 10 to 11 million bpd but 2 million bpd of future growth are unlikely to go ahead with sanctions in place, he said.

Russian oil and gas is subject to a range of Western sanctions aimed at limiting sales to the West and capping prices for Russian oil.