ExxonMobil Predicts Soaring Energy Demands

HOUSTON -- Global energy consumption will soar 60 percent over the next 25 years, Exxon Mobil Corp. predicted in its annual energy outlook, reported the Associated Press.

Energy demand will grow to 334 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2030, up from 205 million in 2000, Jaime Spellings, head of Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil's corporate planning, said during a webcast of the outlook's presentation.

Oil consumption will grow 1.4 percent annually, and gas will grow 1.8 percent per year. Oil and gas will account for 60 percent of the world's energy needs, the same share they hold today, Spellings said in the report. He added that most of the growth will occur in developing countries.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will have a progressively larger share of the world's oil production as non-OPEC output growth flattens around 2010, Spellings said in the AP report.

To satisfy growing crude oil thirst, OPEC will have to produce more than 47 million barrels a day by 2030, a 40 percent increase over current levels, Spellings said.
The planet's remaining crude-oil resource base -- approximately 2.2 trillion barrels, excluding non-conventional oil-- can support that growth, Spellings told AP. The Middle East and Russia hold most of remaining reserves, he said.

North American natural-gas demand will grow 0.5 percent per year to 90 billion cubic feet a day, with domestic production expected to decline by 2030 to slightly above 60 billion cubic feet a day from close to 80 billion cubic feet a day. Liquified natural-gas imports will account for the difference.

According to Spellings, Asian demand will triple from around 30 billion cubic feet a day to 90 billion cubic feet a day, on par with North America. In addition, technology and efficiency improvements that are expected to dampen demand are already factored in the Exxon Mobil outlook.
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