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 February 2025
New supply from Argentina, Brazil and Guyana is rich in middle distillates, but optimism in terms of volume growth remains tempered by regulatory and technical risks as well as price volatility
12 February 2025
The oilfield expansion provides a fresh influx of revenue but will strain its cooperation with OPEC+ and fails to mask deeper issues with the economy and investors
11 February 2025
Improving compliance among the group and wider group is offset by production increases in outliers Libya, Venezuela and Iran
10 February 2025
The country wants to kickstart its upstream but first needs to persuade investors to foot the bill