Delivered by His Excellency Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC, at the 15th IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 19 February 2025.
Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to return to Riyadh for the 15th edition of the IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks.
Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, for his kind welcome and insightful remarks.
Your Royal Highness, your continued support has been instrumental to the success of this event. The producer-consumer dialogue that you have so passionately championed continues to grow stronger and remains a cornerstone for promoting energy market stability. This symposium provides a valuable platform for exchanging perspectives and fostering constructive engagement.
I would also like to extend my warmest congratulations to the new Secretary General of the International Energy Forum, His Excellency Jassim Alshirawi, and to thank both him and the IEF team for the excellent arrangements and hospitality extended to us this year.
Let me also recognize the contributions of his predecessor, His Excellency Joe McMonigle, and express appreciation for his service and dedication over the past years.
It is a pleasure to welcome our distinguished guests today: His Excellency Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, and His Excellency Francesco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen
Although global economic performance in 2024 remained relatively strong, the year presented persistent challenges such as high real interest rates, labor market constraints, and geopolitical tensions.
Despite these hurdles, global oil demand continued to grow at a healthy pace, with further increases of 1.4 million barrels per day projected for both 2025 and 2026.
Importantly, the OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) played a significant role in supporting market stability throughout 2024.
In fact, oil emerged as the least volatile commodity last year largely due to the proactive and effective measures implemented under the DoC. These efforts have reinforced confidence and predictability in the market, which are essential for investors and stakeholders across the energy sector.
This underscores the critical role of global dialogue and cooperation in ensuring the stability of oil and energy markets, to the benefit of both producers and consumers, and ultimately, the global economy.
Looking ahead, OPEC and its partners in the DoC remain committed to maintaining stable, transparent, and secure energy markets conditions that are essential for energy security and continued investment.
Today’s Symposium gives us the opportunity to exchange our respective outlooks. I would like to highlight that OPEC’s assessments are based on accurate, transparent, and data-driven analysis. Our approach is pragmatic and grounded in reality, free from ideology or wishful thinking.
We look forward to constructive discussions with our dialogue partners on how we collectively view the future of global oil and energy markets.
Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
We are also eager to participate in today’s additional sessions, which will explore the trajectory of energy transitions over the medium and long term.
It is evident that future energy and oil demand will be driven primarily by the developing world. This is fueled by population growth, urbanization, expanding economies, and the urgent need to provide modern energy access to billions who still lack it.
OPEC’s latest World Oil Outlook projects a 24% increase in global energy demand by 2050, with oil demand anticipated to reach 120 million barrels per day.
These projections make it clear: to meet future energy needs, the world will require contributions from all energy sources. This is not a question of choosing one over another. The scale of future demand compels us to adopt an inclusive approach.
In addition to embracing all sources of energy, we must also advance all relevant technologies that can enhance energy security and reduce emissions.
This calls for sustained investment now and for decades to come guided by realistic expectations of what each energy source and technology can deliver in our collective pursuit of emission reduction.
At OPEC, we strongly support global efforts to lower emissions in line with climate goals, while also ensuring an equitable energy future for all.
At COP29, OPEC Member Countries actively engaged in discussions and advocated for the recognition of the unique circumstances of developing nations. Today, I want to reaffirm that these unique needs must be acknowledged and fully respected.
We continue to stress the importance of principles such as Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities, particularly on key issues like climate finance and technological support.
Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen
In closing, I would like to reaffirm OPEC’s commitment to ongoing dialogue and collaboration with all of our energy partners, including at this vital annual forum.
I look forward to today’s discussions and wish us all a productive and successful Symposium.
Thank you.