OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais stated that OPEC is optimistic about demand and asserts the necessity to increase production, Reuters reported.

Al Ghais elaborated that OPEC predicts that year-on-year demand will rise to more than 2.3 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d).

He insisted on the importance of continued investment in the oil and gas industry, pointing out that calls to stop investing in oil as counterproductive. Investment in the oil and gas sector is essential for energy security, he insisted.

UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei, affirmed Al Ghais’ call saying that  investment by both international and national oil companies was needed.

“And these investments need the financial world to be willing to finance oil and gas,” Mazrouei elaborated.

He also told reporters that his country is seeking to expand its oil production capacity to 5 mmbbl/d by 2027 from 4.2 mmbbl/d currently.