BP Statistical Review says competition, innovation and growth generating results

The BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2012 was released on June 24; the 61st annual report features disruptions to energy supplies and the ever-increasing demand from Asia-Pacific as among the bigger energy stories of 2011.
The report focuses on the “Arab Spring,” especially the complete — although temporary — loss of supply from Libya; and the tragic Fukushima accident in Japan which had incidental effects for nuclear and other energy sources around the world. These two events resulted in considerable price increases in many parts of the world, and oil prices reached a record average of more than US$100 per barrel.
The annual report cited several ongoing background long-term trends including the global energy consumption growth of 2.5%, which is near the historical average, with the emerging economies continually increasing their share of the total; energy demand from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries shrank by almost 0.8% last year; and, growth of 5.3% was expected in emerging economies.
“Markets provided the flexibility that was crucial to the world’s ability to cope with last year’s disruptions. And over time, markets lead to the chain reaction of competition, innovation and growth which creates the secure and affordable energy supplies which governments and consumers are looking for,” said Bob Dudley, BP Group chief executive, during the launch of the Review.
Highlighting the United States where the shale gas revolution led to the decline in prices of natural gases and gave the country the biggest increase in oil production outside of OPEC for three years in a row, Dudley said, “The good news today is that we’re seeing a whole range of areas where this process of competition, innovation and growth is generating results. These include shale gas; deepwater oil and gas; heavy oil and potentially, advanced biofuels.” (June 28, 2012)