OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais emphasized the group’s unwavering commitment to stabilizing global oil markets, pointing to the group’s ‘proactive, preemptive, and precautious’ approach focusing on the key factors affecting the market.
Speaking to Anadolu on the sidelines of the Libya Energy and Economic Summit (LEES) 2025 in Tripoli, Al-Ghais said the global oil demand would grow by 1.4 million barrels per day in 2025, with a similar outlook projected for 2026 in the group’s monthly oil report earlier in January.
‘This is our first forecast for next year’s demand growth. Of course, this is year-on-year growth. Our production strategy is always taking into consideration what is the demand growth forecast,’ he said, noting that the demand outlook is based on economic growth projections.
OPEC anticipates robust global economic growth of over 3% in 2025, largely driven by non-OECD developing countries, particularly India, China, and other parts of Asia.
Highlighting China’s economic resilience, Al-Ghais noted that the country achieved 5% GDP growth in 2024.
– Decisions are based on global economic reviews
The Secretary-General said that OPEC’s primary objective remains ensuring oil market stability.
‘By looking at demand and supply, we have been proactive. We have also been very preemptive and always very precautionary in our actions,’ he said.
He underlined that the group’s decisions are grounded in a comprehensive review of global economic conditions.
‘We look at everything. We look at the state of the global economy. We look at factors affecting demand growth. We look at non-OPEC supply or non-Declaration of Cooperation countries’ supply. And we look at the whole picture and we remain pro-active and attentive,’ he said.
OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which meets bi-monthly, plays a pivotal role in assessing market dynamics, he said.
‘The committee always carefully looks at all these projections, all the forecasts before making any recommendations for any action,’ Al-Ghais explained.
The Secretary-General reiterated OPEC’s commitment to maintaining a well-balanced market and added:
‘Our approach will continue to be proactive, preemptive and precautionary, and we are always attentive to all the fundamental factors affecting the market to make sure that the market always remains balanced.’