0.4 Million Barrel Rise in Global Oil Demand in 2026 – OPEC Secretary General

Haitham Al-Ghais, OPEC Secretary General, said: This figure is lower than the organization's forecast at the start of 2026.

Moscow, October 12. /TASS/. OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al-Ghais said at the WPC Energy Congress: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) expects global oil demand to grow by 0.4 million barrels per day this year, which is lower than the organization's forecast at the beginning of 2026.

Al-Ghais said: In OPEC, we have reduced the demand forecast for this year compared to the beginning of the year. He noted: We are currently witnessing an increase in demand this year to 400,000 barrels per day, while at the beginning of the year we had a growth of 1.4 million barrels per day.

"However, that demand... to be fair, [it] has been pushed back to 2027, where we believe there will be pent-up demand next year. We now have it growing at 1.7 million bpd for 2027," the CEO added.