OPEC boss slams net-zero targets, promotes big future for oil in Calgary speech

Kyle Bakx · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 3:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries says the world's thirst for lipid volition proceed for decades to travel and concern successful the assemblage is indispensable to conscionable those needs.

Haitham al-Ghais made his remarks successful a code to the Global Energy Show successful Calgary connected Tuesday, astatine a clip erstwhile lipid prices are sagging and experts foretell they could autumn further aboriginal this year.

"Simply put, ladies and gentlemen, determination is nary highest successful lipid request connected the horizon. The information that lipid request keeps rising, hitting caller records twelvemonth connected year, is simply a wide illustration of what I'm saying," helium said successful his speech.

• Carney discusses 'partnerships' with lipid and state executives successful Calgary

Primary vigor request is forecast to emergence by 24 per cent betwixt present and 2050, helium said, surpassing 120 cardinal barrels of lipid a day. Currently, lipid request is astir 103 cardinal barrels per day.

"Meeting this ever-rising request volition lone beryllium imaginable with capable and timely and indispensable investments successful the lipid industry," helium said, pointing to the request for $17.4 trillion US successful concern implicit the adjacent 25 years.

Praise for Alberta lipid and gas

The secretary-general utilized his code to compliment Alberta's lipid and state manufacture for its quality to turn accumulation implicit the years, its technological improvements, and its relation arsenic a person successful processing c seizure and retention facilities.

He concluded his code by stating OPEC takes clime alteration "very, precise seriously," and each of its subordinate countries person signed connected to the Paris clime accord. 

Still, helium criticized net-zero targets by companies and countries arsenic "unrealistic," "fixated connected deadlines" and "detached from reality."

Instead, helium said the satellite should beryllium focused connected reducing emissions and utilizing each forms of vigor to conscionable the needs of the world's increasing population.

In 2024, emissions from the vigor assemblage grew by 0.8 per cent compared to 2023, according to the International Energy Agency, portion the planetary system expanded by much than 3 per cent. 

In Canada, the national authorities is already connected gait to miss its 2030 people to chopped c emissions by astatine slightest 40 per cent beneath 2005 levels by 2030.

Challenging times

The code comes astatine a clip erstwhile the oilpatch is confronting anemic commodity prices and galore companies are pulling backmost connected investment.

OPEC countries are producing much this year, on with much output from Canada, the U.S. and Guyana. Last month, the Vienna-based cartel agreed to rise output by 411,000 barrels a time successful June, speeding up the gradual instrumentality of 2.2 cardinal barrels a day.

For context, Canada produces astir 5 cardinal barrels per time successful total.

At the aforesaid time, planetary depletion of lipid is not rising arsenic initially expected due to the fact that of slowing planetary trade.

"Demand is not falling, but we are successful a play wherever request maturation is weak. In fact, if you instrumentality retired the COVID twelvemonth of 2020, the planetary fiscal situation of '08-'09, this looks similar it could beryllium the weakest twelvemonth of maturation since 2001," said Jim Burkhard, planetary caput of crude lipid probe with S&P Global Commodity Insights, successful an interrogation with CBC News.

Big driblet forecasted

North American lipid prices are averaging astir $65 US per tube successful caller days, but S&P's latest lipid forecast released this week anticipates prices could autumn into the high-$40s per tube aboriginal this year.

"We could spot a important quality successful terms by the extremity of the twelvemonth compared with wherever we are close now. A batch depends connected the economy, of course, and the interest astir tariffs and OPEC+ tin change their decisions astatine immoderate time. But close now, connected existent trends, it looks similar there's going to beryllium a batch much proviso comparative to request aboriginal this year," helium said.

More than 30,000 radical from 100 countries are expected to be the Global Energy Show successful Calgary this week.