Kuwait Petroleum Sees High Demand for Energy Next 2 Decades

Demand for energy is forecast to edge up by 33% in the coming two decades, anticipated CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Hashem Hashem, citing recent OAPEC figures.

Hashem made the remark in a speech he delivered on behalf of Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water Khaled Al-Fadhel during the fifth version of the GCC Energy Strategy Forum, hosted by the KPC on Tuesday.

He expected the share of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in global oil supplies to shoot up to 36% by 2040 from 34% in 2017. He noted that for the third year, global investment in energy dipped to USD 1.8 trillion in 2017.

Hashem reassured that the strategic plans of the Kuwaiti oil sector until 2040 cover the development of various activities and shore up the Kuwaiti economy by means of creating jobs, training young people and boosting their technical capabilities, and going ahead with financial diversification blueprints.

The KPC is eager to fulfill the international criteria of high-quality and environmentally friendly oil byproducts, while expanding refining operations so as to meet local demand for energy, the KPC's CEO echoed.

Secretary-General of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) Abbas Al-Naqi addressed the event by saying that member states own roughly 705 billion barrels of oil, which make up 47.9% of the world's oil reserves.

The quota of the OAPEC's GCC member states constitute around 33.7% of global oil stocks, Al-Naqi added. OAPEC members produce 24.7 million barrels of oil per day, which make up roughly 28% of global output, while GCC member states share about 21% of the world's production, he remarked.

The OAPEC chief predicted member states to boost their refining capacity by 1.9 million barrels per day following the setting up of new refiners in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria and UAE, not to mention refinery production expansions in Bahrain and Egypt.