PARIS: Opec said on Tuesday that phasing out oil was a `fantasy`, as the Saudi-led cartel forecast that demand would keep growing until at least 2050.

The oil cartel`s prediction runs counter to the assessment of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which sees demand for fossil fuels peaking this decade.

A goal to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and cut fossil fueluseiswithinreach,theInternational Energy Agency said in a report on Tuesday, but will require a huge push to unlock bottlenecks such as permittingand grid connections.

In Opec`s annual World Oil Outlook, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said oil and gas make up well over half of the energy mix today `and are expected to do the same in 2050`. `What the Outlook underscores is that the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas bears no relation to fact,` Ghais said in the report`s foreword.

`A realistic view of demand growth expectations necessitate adequate investments in oil and gas, today, tomorrow, and for many decades into the future,` he added.-Agencies