EIA predicts oil demand from developing countries will top OECD demand by 2014

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), China will be at the forefront, as oil consumption in developing countries surpasses demand in the major industrialized nations in 2014 for the first time. This will be the culmination of a trend that has been building up in recent years as demand slowed in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer, and the other countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
 
The EIA said that U.S. oil demand fell by 1.6% to a 15-year low in 2012 and is expected to inch up by a modest 0.3% in 2013 and 2014; with the modest demand growth to
continue through 2014, but still falling below the 2011 level. The demand for gasoline is expected to flatten out due to the slow growth in the driving-age population, retirement of less-fuel efficient vehicles and improved fuel-economy standards that will take effect in the coming months.
 
World oil demand is expected to rise 1.1% in 2013 to 90.11 million barrels a day, after a 1% rise in 2012. In 2014, demand is expected to climb 1.6%, to 91.5 million barrels a day, the EIA said. In the OECD countries, demand will continue to fall, as the “modest growth in North America will be more than offset by decreasing consumption in Europe,” the EIA said. (January 9, 2013)