By Commodity Online
Global oil consumption will rise to 105 million barrels per day by 2015 on increased economic activity across the globe. The major chunk of this is projected to emanate from developing non-OECD countries and the Middle East, according a new report titled Oil and Gas: A Global Outlook by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
While strong economic development is projected to propel demand in developing economies, availability of comparatively inexpensive fuel resources is expected to drive demand for liquid fuels in the Middle East. Natural gas is emerging as an important source of energy in North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe as well as in industrialized nations of Asia.
The global oil and gas industry is making a steady recovery from economic crisis, as evident by the steady rise in investments and rising prices of crude oil. Increasing demand for electricity, growing need for feedstock in petrochemical industries, and rising consumption of transportation fuel are some of the factors contributing to this recovery. Growth in the market is further spurred by unprecedented demand emanating from developing countries including India, China, Latin America and the Middle East.
Demand for oil and natural gas is influenced by factors such as change in consumer behavior, government policies, and weather conditions. While the global demand for oil and gas continues to rise, the supply scenario has been volatile in recent years, largely due to the uncertain conditions prevailing in the Middle East. The instability significantly affected the output of region’s countries, thereby affecting the global prices. Further, the depletion of oil reserves at existing sites is driving the search for oil bed reserves in inhospitable regions such as the Arctic zone, which use entirely different petroleum extraction techniques. Several companies are focused on developing alternative sources of energy such as biodiesel.
Availability and environmental friendliness make natural gas the primary energy resource and a major raw material in the chemical and petrochemical industries, especially in industrialized parts of the world. The market holds potential to replace oil due to its lower price. The escalating demand is further driving many companies to actively engage in the exploration and extraction of natural gas reserves. Most of major reserves of natural gas are located in and around Europe, Middle East and Africa with some deposits in Asia.
China is emerging as a major consumer of oil and gas, globally, next only to the US, driven by fast paced economic growth and large population base. The country has also emerged as a net importer of oil from being a net exporter in the 1990s.
