Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al-Ghais, confirmed: ‘The end of oil does not loom on the horizon, because the pace of growth in energy demand means that alternatives cannot replace it at the required rate, and that the focus must be on reducing emissions, not oil consumption.

In an article published by the Middle East Economic Survey (MES) website, Al-Ghais said: ‘There is a worrying trend of using terms such as the end of oil, which would promote policies that fuel chaos in the energy sector.’

He added, wondering: ‘What if investments in supplies decrease as a result, and the demand for oil continues to increase, as we are witnessing today,’ stressing: ‘The truth is that the end of oil does not loom on the horizon.’

OPEC believes that oil use will continue to rise in the coming decades, unlike bodies such as the International Energy Agency, which expects it to peak by 2030.

Al-Ghais said: ‘The oil sector is investing in technologies such as carb
on extraction, use and storage, clean hydrogen and others, which demonstrates the possibility of reducing emissions while producing the oil that the world needs.’

He explained: ‘The world has invested more than 9.5 trillion dollars in energy conversion over the past two decades, yet wind and solar energy still provide only a little less than 4% of global energy, and the total percentage of electric cars spreading globally ranged between 2% to 3%.

He concluded by saying: ‘The many alternatives cannot replace oil at the necessary level, or their cost is unsustainable in many areas.’

Source: National Iraqi News Agency