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IEA official predicts global oil demand to hit 92.7 mln bpd

KUWAIT, April 14 (KUNA) -- International demand for oil in 2014 is expected to reach 92.7 million barrels per day (bpd), including 8.1 million from the Middle East, said a senior official of the International Energy Agency (IEA) here on Monday.
In a working paper presented during the first session of the 3rd Kuwait Oil and Gas Summit and Exhibition, Director for Energy Markets and Security at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Keisuke Sadamori said China would become the world's leading oil importer by 2030.
The consumption of the Organization for Economic and Development Cooperation (OECD) is also anticipated to fall by 2030, while demand for oil will mostly include the transport sector, and diesel consumption is to hike by 5.5 million barrels per day, he said.
The IEA official also predicted light oil production in the US and deep-water oil output in Brazil to remain high until mid-2020s.
Furthermore, the drop in US oil imports due to self-sufficiency and Europe's dipping oil consumption would result in low demand and even force Middle East producers to increasingly head to Asia, he pointed out.
Solar energy output in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Latin America could record growth by the reported period, Sadamori added.
Speaking to reporters following the session, the IEA official said should US and Canadian shale oil output carry on rising, Northern American countries would surely reach self-sufficiency, thus largely affecting the global oil trade map.
The cost of shale oil production in the US and Canada is much higher than that in Middle East countries, he remarked.
But, he called on Middle East oil producers to boost their investments in oil industry in order to remain able to fulfill their needs.
On Kuwait's signing of biofuel contracts, he said this would not only give Kuwait a privilege at world derivative markets but this would also enable it to fulfill local and regional environmental requirements.
The 3rd Kuwait Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition, officially hosted by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), is the strategic meeting place for the Kuwait oil and gas industry.
The Summit has a reputation for delivering quality and excellence, whilst playing a critical role in helping to set the agenda for sustainable growth. The program for 2014 will include forward-thinking debate on capacity building, efficiency and cooperation, with a focus on the policies, investment and skills needed to realize Kuwait's strategic oil and gas objectives. (end) asj.an.mt