After years of underinvestment on a global scale, the oil and gas industry “now faces enormous challenges on multiple fronts”, the Secretary-General told delegates at an industry conference in Lagos. “These threaten our investment potential now and in the long term, to put it bluntly, my dear friends, the oil and gas industry is under siege,” Barkindo said, citing geopolitical developments in Europe. Barkindo also suggested that the supply shortfall that would eventually result for the industry as a result of this underinvestment—and as a result of a country’s effort to shift away from fossil fuels—could be alleviated if OPEC members were allowed to export more oil. Iran. and Venezuela. While nations try to move away from fossil fuels and capacity declines, demand for oil continues to rise, driving crude oil prices higher and higher, Barkindo said, adding that “For us in Nigeria, fossil fuels will always have a share in our energy mix, for the predictable. We will not give up fossil fuels just yet. We have adopted natural gas as a transition fuel.” OPEC Secretary General sees global oil demand rising until 2045. Meanwhile, refining capacity in OECD countries fell by 3.3 percent last year. “The ongoing war in Ukraine, a COVID-19 pandemic that is still with us, and inflationary pressures around the world have combined in a perfect storm that is causing significant volatility and uncertainty in commodity markets in general. Most importantly, the world of energy,” Barkindo explained. Crude oil prices fell more than 8% on Tuesday afternoon on fears that the world could soon see a recession, reducing oil demand. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More top reads from Oilprice.com:
