-
- HE Haitham Al Ghais, OPEC Secretary General, at the Plenary session: New Energy Order: Focus on Middle Powers, Kazakhstan Energy Week, on 3 October 2025.
By Haitham Al Ghais
It is a great honour to be here in Kazakhstan again.
Kazakhstan is a key participant in the historic Declaration of Cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC producers since it was founded at the end of 2016.
In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Olzhas Bektenov, prime minister of Kazakhstan, and His Excellency Yerlan Akkenzhenov, minister of energy of Kazakhstan, for their ongoing support and cooperation.
I had the pleasure to visit Kazakhstan in 2024, and again earlier this year. In my meetings with prime minister Bektenov and minister Akkenzhenov, we discussed the pivotal role that OPEC member countries and non-OPEC producing countries have played since 2016 in contributing to oil market stability and overcoming market challenges through the Declaration of Cooperation, often called OPEC+.
What was evident in all these discussions was one thing: the unity and resolve of all participants in OPEC+ that allowed us to take decisions focused on market stability, which not only serves the interests of producers, but consumers and the broader global economy too.
This was particularly relevant at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the OPEC+ production adjustment decisions literally pulled the industry back from the abyss.
Those decisions enabled the industry to recover in the subsequent years, with multiplier benefits for economies across the world.
In September this year, we celebrated 65 years of OPEC, and in December next year, we will see the DoC reach ten years.
Both are momentous landmarks, and underscore just how important OPEC and OPEC+ have been to the global oil and economic landscape. I have no doubt they will also be vital for decades to come.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
For some, it might appear that the decisions OPEC and OPEC+ take are aimed solely at the short term, but this is not the case. We look at all timeframes.
We want to ensure we have a platform for future growth, for future investments and for future oil production. I cannot underscore enough how important this is.
Year after year, the world continues to consume more oil. In fact, last year, the consumption of gas, coal and renewables also reached record levels.
The world needs more from all energies, given that we see the global population rising to close to 10 billion by 2050; the global economy more than doubling in size over the same time period; the development of new energy intensive industries, such as Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers; and, rapid urbanisation.
To put the last point in context, the urbanisation drive will require the addition of approximately 360 cities the size of Astana by 2030 alone.
Of course, our energy future needs to be one where we reduce emissions, but it also needs to be one that delivers energy security and energy availability for all.
We need to remember the billions of people around the world that still lack access to modern energy services. The international community needs to ensure that these people have at least the energy basics that others take for granted, such as turning on a light, cooking on a clean stove or having motorised transport to travel to work or school.
The future is one that requires huge investments in all energy sources. In our World Oil Outlook 2025, we see the oil sector alone requiring investments totalling $18.2 trillion out to 2050.
For those that still believe that the world does not need new investment in oil and gas projects, I have a three-word response: ‘You are wrong’.
There is no doubt that the world has an abundance of oil and gas reserves, and it is clear that Kazakhstan has the resources and the potential to play a vital role in our oil and energy futures, with fields such as Tengiz and Kashagan.
Kazakhstan has proven oil reserves of around 30 billion barrels, or close to 2% of the world’s total. Moreover, it has significant gas resources and is well-positioned as a regional energy hub.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Future energy pathways must be driven by realism and pragmatism. At OPEC, we continue to advocate for an all-energies, all-technologies and all-peoples approach.
Where no energy source, or no-one is dismissed, and with pathways that are holistic, inclusive, fair and equitable, and in accordance with the core UNFCCC principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
What is clear is that oil remains vital to our future, just as it has been to our past. It is easy to understand why.
Imagine a world where petroleum and its related products did not exist. It would be one where transportation came to a halt, where food production was devastated, where health services were broken, and where economic growth would go into reverse. It is simply unimaginable.
Oil is also vital to economies and countries around the world, including here in Kazakhstan. Only last month, His Excellency President Tokayev, in marking Oil and Gas Workers’ Day, underscored the rich traditions of the oil industry, its importance to the country’s growth and development, and paid tribute to the more than 200,000 people currently employed in the oil and gas sector.
With that, allow me to conclude by saying that it is a great honour to be here at Kazakhstan Energy Week for the first time, and it will not be the last.
I wish the government, organisers and delegates every success with the event.
