Demand for oil is to increase by two million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2017, Secretary General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mr. Mohammed Barkindo has said
Barkindo stated this while delivering an address at the Oxford Energy Seminar, Oxford University, London .
“Another optimistic indicator going forward is global oil demand growth. It is estimated to increase by close to 2 million barrels a day from the first to the second half of this year. Undoubtedly this boost in demand will contribute to further reductions in commercial oil inventories,” he said.
Recall that countries including France, China, India and Britain have disclosed plans to phase out petrol and diesel cars, which raised fears about the future of crude oil.
Petrol and diesel driven cars will be replaced by electric vehicles, which are said to have zero emissions.
Barkindo said the drop in global oil prices was the sharpest ever experienced, adding that the magnitude of the price drop in the current cycle is the highest of all cycles in real terms.
“In addition, the recent drop in oil prices has been considerably sharper than the decline in prices for other commodities – which is in stark contrast to, for example, the oil price collapse of 1985-1986 when all commodity prices saw a steep decline.
“In terms of the current price cycle, the OPEC reference basket price fell by an extraordinary 80 percent between June 2014 and January 2016.”
