World oil demand will reach an all-time high in 2023
World oil demand will hit a record high in 2023 amid robust consumption in China and elsewhere, threatening to push prices even higher, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced Friday, Bloomberg reports, cited by Agerpres.
In its August report on the global oil market, the Paris-based agency says global oil demand hit a record 103 million barrels a day in June and a new peak could be reached in August.
"Oil demand is at record highs, boosted by summer air travel, increased use of oil in power generation and increased petrochemical activity in China," the IEA says.
According to the IEA's latest estimates, global oil demand is expected to increase by 2.2 million barrels per day compared to 2022, reaching a record 102.2 million barrels per day in 2023. The following year, however, growth would slow to 1 million barrels per day, 150,000 barrels per day less than the 1.15 million barrels per day advance the Paris-based agency previously estimated.
This week, crude oil prices hit a six-month high of more than $88 a barrel on the London Stock Exchange, amid a post-pandemic recovery in fuel consumption and the OPEC+ alliance's cut in oil production.
The steep drop in global oil demand during the Covid-19 crisis three years ago sparked speculation that we could be approaching peak oil consumption as remote working became increasingly popular and governments want to transition away from fossil fuels to avoid a climate catastrophe. But the latest IEA data shows that despite mounting evidence that the planet is warming, oil consumption is stronger than ever.
The International Energy Agency is the main energy advisory body to the 29 most developed countries. The agency was set up in response to the first oil shock in 1973-1974 to coordinate the release of oil from reserve stocks.
