Luanda - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said its members will need to invest roughly 12.1 trillion dollars until 2045 to meet the world energy demand estimated at about 23 percent.
According to OPEC's Secretary-General, Haitham Al-Ghais, the investment will be fundamental to ensure the sustainability of the world's oil industry, create refining capacity and develop the crude distribution network in Africa, in particular.
In a press conference held Monday, in Luanda, the OPEC official spoke of the need to invest strongly in the oil and gas sector to face the challenges of the world energy transition (renewable energies).
For Haitham Al-Ghais, the evolution towards clean energies must be made in a balanced way, worldwide, as well as taking into account the electricity deficit that still exists particularly in the African continent.
Al-Ghais underlined that energy transition can not be discussed without looking at the deficit of access to electricity in Africa, since nearly 600 million people still have no electricity supply in this continent.
The OPEC representative added that any energy transition project should also look at solving the problem of lack of electricity for thousands of people around the world in general, and in Africa in particular.
Al-Ghais mentioned that OPEC members have been working to create technologies for the decarbonization of oil production, with the aim to find balanced solutions to preserve the environment.
Haitham Al-Ghais, who is in the Angolan capital, Luanda, to participate in the Angola Oil & Gas Conference and Exposition to be held from November 29 to December 1 this year, considered the energy transition to be of crucial importance for all countries, which should strive for balance in industrial activities.
Besides the Luanda conference, which aims at attracting new investments for the sector, OPEC will meet in December to analyze the performance of the oil industry and foresee actions for the coming years.
Early in October, the OPEC+ led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided in Vienna (Austria) to reduce its production by two million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 13 members of the OPEC, seven are from Africa, namely Angola, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, and Gabon.
