surging demand
New sources of oil and gas are coming on stream on a steady basis, from North Sea Oil to Canada’s oil sands, and the development of offshore reserves in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. But demand is rising much faster. With India and China rapidly becoming huge consumers, the supply-demand equation is going to be stretched. The Energy Information Administration (www.eia.org) projects North American consumption rising nearly 40 percent by 2020, to 32 million barrels a day.

In Asia, consumption will nearly double in the same period to 27.6 million barrels daily. “[China] is building one of the most extensive highway infrastructures on earth, so that it can replace its one billion bicycles with cars,” says a new study published by the Asia Pacific Foundation for Canada. Chinese oil companies in recent months have negotiated controversial deals with “rogue” states, including a $70 billion deal with Iran and a $700 million line of credit to Venezuela. China is also an active player in many oil producing countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kazahkstan and others. Several Chinese firms are heavily invested in the Canadian oil sands and pipeline projects.

global oil consumption

resources
International Energy Agency
World Energy Outlook
Oil Market Report
US Department of Energy
US Energy Information Administration
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) - Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency - NRCan