At the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference, Shaikh Nawaf al-Sabah, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, forecasted an energy demand trajectory that outpaces the anticipated population growth by 2050.

This projection starkly contrasts with the prevailing belief that energy demand would reach its zenith within this decade.

Al-Sabah highlighted the burgeoning energy needs of the developing world, where a staggering three-quarters of a billion people still live without electricity, and nearly 2.5 billion lack access to clean cooking facilities.

The CEO underscored the necessity for a shift, advocating for the empowerment of energy-deprived nations to harness natural resources efficiently and cleanly.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) October forecast, which anticipated a peak in the demand for fossil fuels before 2030 due to the rise of clean energy, has now become a contentious topic. Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, echoed Al-Sabah’s sentiments at the conference, emphasizing that the majority of the global population resides in developing countries, which have been largely overlooked in peak oil demand discussions focused on Western nations.

Nasser pointed out the stark disparity in oil consumption between developed and developing nations, with the latter’s per capita consumption being a fraction of that in the European Union and the U.S. He criticized the current energy transition strategy as inadequate and called for a “reset,” highlighting the unaffordability of alternative energy sources for most of the world’s population.

Nasser dismissed the notion of eliminating oil and gas from the energy mix as a “fantasy,” advocating instead for pragmatic investments in hydrocarbons. Meanwhile, Al-Sabah announced Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s ambitious plan to ramp up production capacity to 4 million barrels per day by 2035, a move driven by the anticipated increase in global energy demand during the transition period.

As the debate over energy futures intensifies, it becomes increasingly clear that the path to a sustainable energy landscape is complex and fraught with challenges, particularly for the developing world. The CEOs’ insights underscore the critical role that developing nations will play in shaping the energy transition, and the urgent need for investment strategies that address the realities of energy poverty and consumption patterns across the globe.