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OPEC says 2010 world oil demand projected higher
Published on March 11, 2010 by oilprices · No CommentsWorld oil demand is projected to grow higher by 900,000 barrels per day in 2010, OPEC said on Wednesday, and supply is expected to increase along with the rise in demand, especially in non OPEC countries like Russia and Brazil.
OPEC member countries supply of about 35 percent of the world’s crude oil, raised its demand forecast to 85.24 million barrels per day, roughly 100,000 barrels per day higher than its February projections. It also said demand for OPEC crude was estimated at 29 million barrels a day, some 200,000 barrels per day more than its previous month’s forecast, but noted that members were still overproducing.
Describing 2009 as “the worst year in the industry in oil demand since the oil crisis in the 1980s,” the twelve member producer bloc said in its March report that global oil demand “has been highly dependent upon the world economy, supported by government led stimulus plans.”
“These stimulus plans have already done a great job of jump starting many sectors of the economy, including energy,” OPEC said, adding that “questions remain as to how long governments will be able to afford supporting their economies.”
“Should this support diminish, then world oil demand would of course be impacted,” it said, noting that a pullback from stimulus efforts in the United States, in particular, before a full recovery could have the domino effect of dampening demand growth in other regions, as well.