VIENNA – World oil demand growth will slow in 2013 from the already weak 2012, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), said Wednesday, citing Europe's debt worries, a faltering US economic recovery and deceleration of growth in emerging markets. Opec, which produces a third of global oil, said daily average demand for its crude in 2013 would stay below its current production levels as additional barrels coming out of non-Opec producers will be enough to compensate for modest demand growth. "The sluggish OECD economy is suppressing the region's oil demand," the report said regarding 2012. "US demand is weakening further due to a sluggish economy, the European economic turbulence is suppressing that continent's demand, and Indian demand is negatively affected by the recent massive floods." The only exception was Japan, which has increased crude and fuel oil burning to compensate for its closed nuclear plants, the cartel said. This pattern was set to continue into 2013. "Total world oil demand growth is expected to take place in the non-OECD area, mainly China, India, the Middle East and Latin America," Opec predicted. This growth would come mostly from the industrial, transport and petrochemical sectors. "Besides the euro zone crisis, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the contraction of manufacturing in the US for the first time since 2010 and decelerating economic growth in emerging markets have been fuelling uncertainties regarding global economic growth," Opec said in a monthly report. Opec left its 2012 world oil demand growth forecast unchanged at 0.9 million bpd and said growth in 2013 would amount to 0.82 million bpd. Opec forecast non-Opec supply to increase by 0.7 million bpd in 2012 and 0.9 million in 2013. "US oil supply is expected to average 10.07 million bpd in 2013, an increase of 0.37 million bpd over 2012. This increase will be the highest among all non-Opec countries and at the highest annual level since 1986", Opec said. Opec also cited secondary sources as saying Iranian production was down to 2.963 million bpd in June, the lowest in more than 20 decades, while Saudi Arabia had ramped output back to above 10.1 million bpd. – Agencies
