Awwal 07, 1432, Feb 10, 2011, SPA - Global demand for oil will grow more this year than previously forecast, major oil producers and a group of industrialized countries said Thursday in two separate reports, dpa reported. Both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) cited stronger demand from the United States and Asia as one reason for their revisions. The Vienna-based OPEC predicted demand would reach 87.74 million barrels per day (bpd), an increase of 1.4 million bpd from last year. (One barrel equals 159 litres.) The IEA said global demand would rise to 89.3 million bpd, up 1.5 million barrels from 2010. The Paris-based agency is part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the group of mostly Western industrialized countries. OPEC raised its demand figures for 2010 and 2011 not only because of stronger industrial output in the US and China, but also because of the cold winter season. Also, increasing natural gas prices has discouraged power plants from switching from oil to gas, the cartel said. OPEC revised global demand growth by 170,000 bpd, while the IEA raised it by 90,000 bpd. But overall, both groups saw the pace of growth slow down from last year. The IEA cited "diminishing stimulus impact, tightening OECD government budgets and worrisome signs of commodity price inflation in the non-OECD" as factors expected to impact on economic growth and, by extension, demand for oil. As oil prices soared in January and markets were worried about supply disruptions amid the Egyptian protests, OPEC members increased production to the highest level since December 2008. With Iraq posting the biggest rise, the group moved its monthly production further above the agreed output limit, to 29.72 million bpd. The 12-country group said demand for its crude oil would rise to an average of 29.8 million bpd this year. -- SPA
