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Global energy use has hit 20-year high, says BP
Global energy consumption has jumped to its highest level for 20 years on the back of raging demand from fast-growing economies like China and India, according to BP, the world's second-biggest oil and gas company.However, the company said there was no need to panic that the world is running out of hydrocarbons, forecasting that there is at least 40 years worth of oil left and enough gas to last until 2071. "The world does not face a shortage of hydrocarbon resources or reserves," it said. Peter Davies, BP's chief economist and author of BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2005 which was published yesterday, said world energy consumption grew by 4.3pc last year, above the 10-year average in every region in the world. He said: "In volume terms, this is the largest-ever annual increase in global primary energy consumption and is the highest percentage growth since 1984. It is exceptional that this demand growth was so geographically widespread." While China's economy grew 9.5pc in 2004, this was outstripped by a 15.1pc jump in energy demand. Chinese energy consumption has now increased by 65pc since 2001 and accounts for 13.6pc of the world's demand. Outside China, world energy demand jumped by 2.8pc. Oil production grew at its fastest rate since 1978, increasing by 3.4pc to 2.5m barrels a day, with Iraqi production trebling to 2m barrels per day. The biggest fall was in the UK and US where production fell by 230,000bpd and 160,000bpd respectively. The soaring demand has come amid high oil prices, which averaged $38.30 a barrel over the year and have risen above $50 in recent months. However, Mr Davies said: "At no time has any indication been given that high energy prices could be caused by a lack of resources. Prices have been driven by demand growth but scarce production does not necessarily imply a scarcity of resources." There was plenty of oil, gas and coal left in the world, he said: "Proved reserves of oil and gas continue to increase. In other words, at a global level, every barrel of oil and cubic metre of gas that is produced is replaced by at least one new barrel or cubic metre of newly proved energy. "Proved reserves of oil, gas and coal remain more than adequate to meet the world's growing needs in aggregate for the foreseeable future. "Oil still has a reserves-to-production ratio of over 40 years, gas of 67 years and coal of 164 years. Investment and new technologies will ensure that there will be further additions to these reserves in future." BP's forecasts came as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries considers lifting production quotas by 500,000 barrels a day, or 2pc, to 28m bpd, at a meeting later today. However, Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah of Kuwait, the oil cartel's president, said it had little choice but to act with prices so stubbornly high and countries worried that high oil prices could impede world economic growth. He said: "Whenever it's over $50, we have to react. The market is well-supplied, but we have to do everything we can to make more reasonable prices." Some traders say Opec looks powerless to prevent prices challenging April's record of more than $58 a barrel as the global economy, led by China and the US, soaks up more oil in the second half of the year. Posted by: too true 2005-06-15 |
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