World Demand of Crude Oil

The International Energy Agency predicted that peak oil demand would be reached by 2030 and hailed the decline of crude as a “welcome sight.”

OPEC leaders reacted harshly, accusing the agency of fear-mongering and risking the destabilization of the world economy.
Oil producers have been accused of dialing back their climate pledges in recent months following record annual profits.


It’s been a war of words and numbers between two major players in the energy industry – the International Energy Agency and OPEC – as they spar over the future of something crucial to crude producers’ survival: peak oil demand.


Peak oil demand refers to the point in time when the highest level of global crude demand is reached, which will be immediately followed by a permanent decline. This would theoretically decrease the need for investments in crude oil projects and make them less economical as other energy sources take over.

For oil producing countries and companies, it’s existential.

That’s why when the chief of the IEA, an intergovernmental organization that advocates for oil-consuming countries, predicted that peak oil demand would be reached by 2030 and hailed the decline of crude as a “welcome sight,” OPEC was furious.

“Such narratives only set the global energy system up to fail spectacularly,” OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais said in a Sept. 14 statement. “It would lead to energy chaos on a potentially unprecedented scale, with dire consequences for economies and billions of people across the world.” He accused the agency of fearmongering and risking the destabilization of the global economy.

More broadly, the spat reflects the ongoing clash between climate change concerns and the need for energy security. That juxtaposition was on full display at ADIPEC – the annual gathering whose name stood for Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition Conference until this year, when it was quietly changed to Abu Dhabi International Progressive Energy Conference.  READ MORE...

A Reduction on Oil Production in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia could begin easing its production cut sooner than oil market participants believe as the world’s top crude oil exporter wouldn’t risk demand destruction through too high prices, consultancy Rapidan Energy Group says.

Due to the Saudi and OPEC+ cuts and falling commercial crude inventories in the U.S., oil prices climbed to their highest levels in months in early trade on Thursday —the U.S. benchmark jumped to a 13-month high and Brent hit the highest price since November 2022 and a new high for 2023.

Early this month, Saudi Arabia extended its 1 million bpd cut through December. The production levels would be reviewed each month until the end of 2023.

According to Rapidan Energy’s president Bob McNally, Saudi Arabia could start easing the cuts sooner than traders realize as it wouldn’t want to overheat the market.

“They do not want to deliberately over-tighten the market, because if you get a spike, then you get a demand collapse, and you get a bust,” McNally told Bloomberg Television in an interview on Thursday.

“The real sensible way to bring prices to heel is for Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ to say: ‘We’ve made our point, we’ve scared away the speculative shorts’,” the energy expert added.

Last week, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy at ING, said that even though the oil price rally had “more room to run,” a break above $100 per barrel for Brent wouldn’t be sustainable.

“OPEC+ will also want to be careful about overtightening the oil market. They will be shooting themselves in the foot if they push prices to levels where we start to see an increased risk of demand destruction,” Patterson wrote in a note.  READ MORE...

Venezuela and OPEC

Venezuela has played a crucial role in OPEC’s history

Vienna, Austria, 14 September 2021--Article by HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, on the occasion of the Organization’s 61st Anniversary.

The fourteenth of September is a date of profound significance for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It was on this day in 1960 that the five Founding Fathers of OPEC, Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo of Venezuela; Abdullah al-Tariki of Saudi Arabia; Dr Tala’at al-Shaibani of Iraq; Dr Fuad Rouhani of Iran; and Ahmed Sayed Omar of Kuwait gathered together in the Al-Shaab Hall in Baghdad and brought the Organization into being.

It is a tremendous source of pride for me, as Secretary General that I can commemorate this year’s ‘OPEC Day’ on an official visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As a Founder Member, Venezuela has played a crucial role in the Organization’s formation and its subsequent successes throughout its history. On behalf of the entire OPEC Family, I would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government and people of Venezuela who have done so much to make OPEC the distinguished Organization that it is today.

Following the establishment of OPEC, Pérez Alfonzo said: “We are now united. We are making history.” These words proved extremely prescient. Pérez Alfonzo had midwifed the birth of our Organization through his strong partnership with Abdullah al-Tariki of Saudi Arabia. Pérez Alfonso was ably supported at this time by another distinguished contributor to OPEC’s successful history, Dr. Alirio Parra. Subsequent generations of distinguished public servants took up the baton passed to them and have served our Organization with distinction in various capacities.

One of the most significant events in the history of the Organization was the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government of OPEC Member Countries, held in Caracas, Venezuela, 27–28 September 2000. The Second Solemn Declaration responded to new developments in the energy industry brought on with the dawning of a new millennium. This included addressing environmental issues, broadening the concept of economic development to embrace the key component of stability and at the same time placing a heavy stress on eradicating energy poverty.  READ MORE...

OPEC Backs Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman speaks during a press conference after the 45th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 5, 2022. - VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP via Getty Images

October 17, 2022
Several Middle Eastern member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued statements yesterday defending their recent decision to cut oil production. The United Arab Emirates' energy minister said that the move was not motivated by politics.

“I would like to clarify that the latest OPEC+ decision, which was unanimously approved, was a pure technical decision, with NO political intentions whatsoever,” tweeted Suhail Mohamed AlMazrouei.

Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing Oil also released a statement reading that OPEC+ decisions are “based on economic indicators.”  READ MORE...

Political Humor