The Organization of Petroleum Countries (OPEC), which published these figures on Tuesday, forecasts further growth in demand in 2023, at a record level, driven by the rebound in China but also in contradiction with climate commitments.
While climate change is accelerating, the consumption of fossil fuels responsible for global warming is not weakening, quite the contrary: in the last quarter of 2022, the global demand for oil estimated by the cartel passed the 100 million barrel mark by day, at a higher level than before the Covid pandemic.
This demand, which should continue to increase until 2025, is supported by ” solid economic activity in the world and it is mainly driven by China, Asia and the Middle East “.
Fuels are primarily responsible for this increase, with gasoline and diesel consumption expected to increase by 1.1 million barrels per day, well above pre-pandemic levels.
Jet fuel demand is also expected to continue to rebound as air traffic continues to recover for both domestic and international routes.
Demand for jet fuel, however, is expected to remain 9% lower than before the pandemic.
On the other hand, the rise of the electric vehicle fleet should change the situation in a few years, according to Bank of America, which estimates that ” by 2027, electric vehicle sales could make a noticeable dent in oil demand “.