Oil consumption seen soaring

Much of world’s growth will take place in Asia, although U.S. will still use the most; OPEC needed to meet bulk of demand, EIA says.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World oil demand should soar from this year’s almost 86 million barrels per day to 118 million bpd by 2030, even though higher fuel prices will cut back some petroleum usage, the U.S. government’s top energy forecasting agency predicted Tuesday.

Much of the growth in global oil consumption over the next quarter century will come from the non-industrialized nations in Asia, where the strong economies of China and India will gobble up more barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy.

“Much of the world’s incremental oil demand is projected for use in the transportation sector, where there are few competitive alternatives to petroleum,” EIA said in its annual long-term international energy supply and demand forecast.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will provide a large chunk of the additional oil supplies that will be needed to meet demand in 2030, the EIA said.

Reuters