Oil demand will hit its peak by 2030, says Mubadala energy chief

Abu Dhabi: Global oil demand is likely to peak around 2030 - that's according to Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO of Petroleum and Resources at Mubadala.

"Predicting the oil market is very challenging - COVID-19 has created major disruption to demand and we expect to see the continuation of that disruption in 2021," he said. "But if you project the horizon to 2030, we will go back to an acceptable level of growth, potentially peaking in 2030." 

In an interview conducted as part of the ADIPEC Energy Dialogue series, Al Kaabi said COVID-19 caused oil demand to drop by 30 per cent in March and April, from a peak of 100 million barrels per day at the end of 2019. However, demand has started to recover, reaching levels seen in the 1990s and will rise further over the coming 12 months.

With reference to the long-term impact of COVID-19, Al Kaabi said the post-pandemic world be totally different, with fewer people travelling and lower activity in a number of sectors. And, while demand for energy will edge back to 2019 levels, some sectors, such as jet fuel, will take longer to recover than others.