The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Tuesday spoke out against calls to stop investment in the oil and gas industry, calling them dangerous.

OPEC Secretary General Sanusi Barkindo delivered a speech on “The Dynamics of the Global Oil Market in a Decarbonizing World” at the 20th Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Abuja .

In his virtual speech, the OPEC scribe said that investors, environmental lobbyists and even some boards of directors were pressuring oil companies and governments to pursue sweeping policies and initiatives that could, ultimately, be more disruptive than productive for the global energy industry.

He said: “There have even been calls recently to stop investing in oil and gas, which is a dangerous and unrealistic scenario. These voices have emerged particularly in the context of discussions on net zero emissions 2050.

“The fact is, however, that oil and gas have an important role to play in the energy transition. Let’s be clear, OPEC supports the need to cut emissions, boost efficiency and embrace innovation, but we need to be aware of the risk we run from not investing adequately in the future of this. industry. ”

He said the sector was already facing the harsh impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on

investments, which decreased by 30% in 2020.

“If this were to continue, we could see demand exceed supply, posing a significant risk to energy security

both producers and consumers. And that, of course, could have ripple effects for both the global economy and geopolitics, ”Barkindo said.

He further noted that although many OPEC member countries have made good progress in diversifying their economies, many still depend primarily on income from their oil and gas assets to support their economic and social development.

The OPEC boss said achieving net zero emissions by 2050 was already a big challenge for advanced economies, some of which had expressed doubts about the reality of meeting the ambitious goal.

“And so, for developing countries it is even more intimidating, especially as they are busy ensuring that their basic needs are met day in and day out. Every day is a challenge to just put food on the

table and earn a living wage, ”he said.

In terms of scale and timing, Barkindo said the 28-year period to 2050 was not enough to achieve net zero emissions.

This, he said, was based on the scale of the investments required, the availability of land, the massive expansion of the electricity grid required and a series of nearly 400 steps that would need to be reached to reach the net goal. zero.