Global oil demand will reach 124 million barrels a day (mb/d) by 2050, OPEC said in its 2026 World Oil Outlook, launched at the group's Secretariat in Vienna. The report frames oil as a lasting part of the energy mix and sets the price of keeping it flowing: $17.7 trillion of oil investment from 2026 to 2050.
The demand call
OPEC projects total global energy demand rising 23% through 2050, with oil demand growing to 124 mb/d over the same period. The group ties the forecast to energy security, affordability, and emissions goals, and to the billions of people who still lack access to modern energy services. It argues that all fuels and technologies have a role in meeting that demand, and that pathways should fit the different needs of countries around the world.
The investment bill
OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais put the spending need in plain terms. For oil alone, he said, the world needs "$17.7 trillion from 2026 to 2050," which comes to more than $700 billion a year. He added that meeting future needs takes sustained investment now across all energies and technologies.
The 2026 report is the 20th edition of the outlook, which OPEC first published in 2007 as its flagship annual view of the oil and energy sectors. This year's analysis takes in recent energy, economic, and policy shifts, along with questions of energy security and affordability.
Why the numbers matter
The demand and investment figures shape how producers plan capital and how markets price long-dated supply. A call for more than $700 billion a year in oil spending points to OPEC's view that too little investment, not fading demand, is the risk to watch. The full outlook is on the OPEC website and through the group's app and an interactive version at woo.opec.org.
