Distinguished speakers, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to welcome you to this 10th edition of the Technical Meeting on Asian Energy and Oil Outlook.

For ten years, this meeting has been a regular and welcome feature on OPEC’s calendar. It is a meeting that has shown its value time and again, and it continues to reinforce the deepening bonds this Organization has with Asia and its key energy stakeholders.

I want to once again welcome our colleague and OPEC’s friend Dr. Ken Koyama, Senior Managing Director and Chief Economist at the Institute of Energy Economics in Japan.

Dr. Koyama has a long working relationship with OPEC and we greatly appreciate him sharing his insights and knowledge over many years, along with his help in planning and preparation for this meeting.

Dear colleagues,

Asia is the most populous continent and will be the engine of economic growth and the epicentre of future energy demand.

Figures from our OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) 2024 show that India and China alone will account for more than 38% of global GDP in 2050. In addition, India’s GDP growth rate is set to average 5.9% annually between 2023 and 2050, the fastest among all regions.

It is economic growth, population expansion, an urbanization drive and the need to bring energy to those who continue to go without, that are set to be the region’s main energy demand drivers to 2050.

What is clear is that meeting Asia’s growing energy needs is going to require all energy sources. We see renewables playing an expanding role, but it is fossil fuels that are set to continue to dominate the global energy mix.

According to the Asia Development Bank, the continent accounts for more than half of global fossil fuel consumption, with fossil fuels providing around 75% of Asia’s energy today.

Looking ahead, the WOO sees expansion in all Asian regions for oil and natural gas demand.

From the perspective of oil, India is on a strong growth trajectory. The country’s demand is foreseen to more than double between 2023 and 2050, moving from 5.3 mb/d to over 13.3 mb/d. And although China’s oil demand growth is expected to somewhat moderate, it is still set to increase from 16.4 mb/d in 2023 to 18.9 mb/d by 2050, or over 15% of global oil demand by then.

In Other Asia (countries outside of India and China), oil demand is expected to rise from 9.3 mb/d in 2023 to 14.5 mb/d in 2050. This makes it the second-largest global contributor to incremental demand, after India, over the period to 2050.

Dear colleagues,

What Asia’s energy future, and our energy future globally requires, is security of supply and this can only be ensured with adequate and timely investments. For the oil industry alone, we see total cumulative requirements between 2024 and 2050 of $17.4 trillion, or around $640 billion p.a. on average.

We have all been hearing some ill-advised calls to stop investing in new oil and gas projects. This is irresponsible and could lead to future supply shocks and volatility.

All industry policymakers and stakeholders need to work together to ensure a long-term investment-friendly climate, with sufficient finance available.  One that works for producers and consumers, as well as developed and developing countries.

While Asia and the world will need more oil and gas, not less, we also recognize our responsibility to continually reduce emissions.

The challenge is how to balance sustainable, equitable development with energy affordability and energy security, while addressing climate concerns. These intertwined issues have led to a great deal of debate among key stakeholders, and at times, polarization.

It is vital we keep in mind achieving universal access to modern energy under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which continues to be an elusive goal. Although there has been progress, around 685 million people still have no access to electricity and 2.1 billion lack access to clean cooking fuels, with South Asia being one of the areas hardest hit.

According to the Asia Development Bank, more than 350 million people in Asia and the Pacific have only limited access to electricity and 150 million still have no access at all. Many more cook using unhealthy, polluting fuels. Altogether, this is hampering economic growth and social development, and limiting access to education and employment.

Dear colleagues,

We will hold two sessions today. The first is entitled: Oil and energy market developments: drivers, challenges and long-term global outlooks, which will incorporate the Asian perspective on these topics. The session will include an OPEC presentation on the recently launched WOO 2024, as well a presentation by the Institute of Energy Economics of Japan.

In the second session, entitled CCS, CCUS and other Negative Emission Technologies (NETs), we will discuss some potential solutions to the climate challenge. Great strides are being made in many technologies, and we believe that this can help drive a lot of the practical change required to reduce emissions and enable the ongoing role of the oil industry to meet the world’s energy needs. To that end, we will listen to presentations from Korea, China, India, Japan and the Global CCS Institute.

Dear colleagues,

It is clear that this dialogue continues to grow in importance as Asia’s energy needs grow. OPEC will continue to work on a constructive relationship with its counterparts in Asia and rest assured, OPEC will remain a reliable energy partner.

I look forward to stimulating discussions and debate during this meeting.

Thank you.