IEA warning: The world will need to invest $540 billion annually to stabilize oil and gas supplies by 2050.

The International Energy Agency released a report pointing out that in order to maintain current oil and natural gas production, the world needs to invest around $540 billion annually in exploration and development by the year 2050. The head of the agency's energy supply department, Christophe McGlade, revealed at a seminar that although global oil and gas exploration spending is expected to reach $570 billion this year, it is slightly lower than in 2024. This trend signifies that without accelerating the transition of fossil fuel demand, companies will have to develop undiscovered reserves. The report, based on in-depth analysis of production from 15,000 oil fields worldwide, found that without continuous investment, global oil production capacity will lose the equivalent of 5 million barrels per day annually approximately the total current production of Norway and Brazil, a 40% increase from 2010. This accelerated decline is partly due to increased dependence on U.S. shale oil, which depletes resources at a significantly faster rate than traditional oil fields. This outlook is crucial because there are hardly any signs indicating that oil demand will peak soon, meaning that production needs to be increased in the coming years. The current market is complex: although global oil supply is expected to be oversupplied in the next two years, the UK oil company predicts that non-OPEC countries' supply growth will essentially stagnate within 12-18 months from early 2026. The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warned: "The upstream investment gap will lead to an annual loss in the global market equivalent to total oil production of Brazil and Norway. The industry must accelerate action to maintain supply stability."