The Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, said the group anticipates exceptionally strong demand for oil in the third quarter of this year, with only a narrow gap expected between supply and consumption in the months that follow.
According to Russia’s state news agency on Monday, Al Ghais shared these assessments with reporters on the sidelines of last week’s OPEC seminar in Vienna. He indicated that the organization foresees demand rising by 1.3 million barrels per day on an annual basis in 2025, driven largely by a resilient global economy.
He explained that this outlook suggests a particularly robust increase in consumption during the third quarter. Demand is also projected to stay healthy into the fourth quarter, while the difference between production and usage should remain minimal. Al Ghais noted that this dynamic is among the key factors encouraging the alliance of eight oil-producing countries to consider raising output once again.
OPEC’s latest oil market outlook, published last Thursday, forecasts that global demand will average 105 million barrels per day this year. The report predicts demand will climb further to 106.3 million barrels per day in 2026 and reach 111.6 million barrels per day by 2029.
Meanwhile, eight members of the broader OPEC+ coalition - which includes Russia among other allies - are moving to phase out production cuts that have been in place for years to help stabilize the market.
Five sources told Reuters that OPEC+ producers are leaning toward agreeing on another production increase in September.
