- Oil demand to increase 14% by 2035
- Emerging markets to drive demand surge
- Forecast places U.S. as top oil producer by 2020
The global thirst for oil will grow in the next two decades driven by demand from emerging nations and the rise of the United States as the world's top producer, the International Energy Agency said on Monday.
Oil demand will increase by 14% between now and 2035 to reach 99.7 million barrels per day (bpd), the OECD-linked energy watchdog said in its annual assessment of the energy markets of tomorrow.
This was 700,000 bpd more than the IEA forecast a year ago and signals that world is still figuring out how to put the global energy system on a more sustainable path, the IEA said.
Oil prices will rise too, it said, reaching $125 per barrel by 2035 ($215 in nominal terms), from about $107 this year, and instead of the $120 forecast earlier.
"Growth in oil consumption in emerging economies, particularly for transport in China, India and the Middle East, more than outweighs reduced demand in the OECD, pushing oil use steadily higher," the IEA said.
Transportation "is responsible for almost 40% of the increase in global oil demand," the agency said with oil use for trucks -- mainly diesel -- increasing much faster than that for passenger vehicles.
