Middle distillates to drive oil demand growth by 2015

The global growth in demand for oil will be driven by middle distillates, such as diesel fuel and jet fuel, in the next five years, International Energy Agency (IEA) Senior Oil Demand Analyst Eduardo Lopez said. Lopez said middle distillates will comprise 62% of the total growth in demand for oil by 2015, leading to a refining bottleneck. North America’s supply of middle distillates, which include gasoil and kerosene, may tighten in the near term but the country eventually will “maintain its export potential,” he said. On the other hand, imports to Europe, Latin America and Asia will increase. The growth in demand will be driven by higher global industrial production and economic growth. The global economy is expected to grow between 3% and 4.4% between 2010 and 2015, he said, citing IEA forecasts. (October 27, 2010)