Source: AFP
Global oil demand is unlikely to decline by 2050 despite advances in renewable energy, US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil said on Monday, pointing to rising population and energy demand worldwide.
In a new report, ExxonMobil said it “sees a plateau in oil demand after 2030, remaining above 100 million barrels per day until 2050.”
That would be roughly in line with last year’s oil demand of 102.2 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.
The figure is significantly higher than forecasts by rival BP, which predicted earlier this year that oil demand would decline to about 75 million barrels per day by 2050 on its current trajectory.
In its report, ExxonMobil estimated that approximately four billion people around the world currently do not have access to the energy they need.
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With the world’s population expected to grow from eight billion to nearly 10 billion by 2050, meeting the world’s basic energy needs “will lead to a projected 15% increase in total global energy use between now and 2050,” the company said .
“Renewable energy sources will play an important role,” he added. “So is oil and gas.”
ExxonMobil estimates that oil and natural gas will still make up more than half of the global energy mix by 2050, even as the spread of electric vehicles reduces demand for gasoline at the pump.
“The vast majority of the world’s oil is and will be used for industrial processes such as manufacturing and chemical production, along with heavy transport such as shipping, trucking and aviation,” the company said.
Despite this, ExxonMobil still expects global carbon emissions to fall by around 25% by mid-century, thanks to greater energy efficiency, more renewables and the introduction of new “lower emission technologies” such as capture and storage coal.
Source: AFP
