China leads energy spurt

Unprecedented turbulence in world energy markets in 2008 may have overshadowed a less dramatic but perhaps equally profound development in implications for the long term.

For the first time ever, the developing world led by China leapfrogged industrial and developed nations in the consumption of primary energy.

Outside OPEC, crude production recorded the steepest decline since 1992, falling by 1.4 percent, or 601,000 bpd, with output from OECD countries falling 4 percent, or 750,000 bpd, driven by declines in North America and Europe. The single largest decline came from Mexico, where production decreased 310,000 bpd. Russian production also fell for the first time since 1998, by 90,000 bpd, while United Kingdom oil output fell 94,000 bpd, the lowest level for 30 years.

Petroleum News