BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 27. Exxon Mobil Corporation has stated in its annual global forecast that oil demand will remain above 100 million barrels per day (bpd) through 2050, emphasizing the need for investment in new carbon projects to meet this demand, Trend reports.
"The sustained high level of oil demand until 2050 is driven by growing industrial use, particularly in plastic production and heavy-duty transportation," Exxon said in its annual forecast.
The company's experts warned that insufficient investment in new hydrocarbon projects through 2050, combined with rising demand, could lead to a "catastrophic" situation.
"Without new investments, oil supplies could decline by 70 percent to 30 million bpd by 2030, resulting in a sharp rise in crude oil prices and devastating the global economy," Exxon Mobil noted in the report.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recently forecast oil consumption to reach 116 million bpd by 2045, marking one of the highest volumes in history.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is urging global companies to reduce oil demand by 75 percent, to 24 million bpd by 2050, in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as mandated by the UN Paris Agreement on climate change.