The energy sector is the source of about three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions
Opec, IEA face-off reflects oil’s evolving role
The recent disagreement between Opec and the IEA over market volatility is rooted in the seismic shift required by the oil industry to avoid catastrophic climate change
Volatility, in particular the price effects emanating in the financial markets, was the keyword as some of the biggest names in oil market analysis gathered in Vienna for the ninth joint IEA-IEF-Opec Workshop at the end of April. The hospitality of the Opec secretariat was as welcoming as ever, and the tone of the discussions was friendly and cordial. However, on the same day of the forum, the new Opec secretary-general, Haitham al-Ghais, issued a statement criticising earlier comments of Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director, who said that Opec’s recent output cuts came as a “bad surprise”. Ghais pointed the finger at the IEA and its calls for an end to investing in oil as a more likely s
Also in this section
13 April 2026
For GCC producers, the ceasefire may prove more destabilising than the war itself: exports remain constrained, and control over Hormuz has shifted in ways that could endure
9 April 2026
The April 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
9 April 2026
Offshore operators are working through an FID backlog as the rig market consolidates, helped by improving project economics and a renewed security drive
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
