Oil looks set to play a major role in global energy up to 2040, BP said in its latest report released on Thursday.
According to BP's Energy Outlook 2019, substantial investments are required as for several decades, the world is forecast to consume significant amounts of oil, including crude plus natural gas liquids, although the precise volumes are uncertain. This year’s Outlook considers a range of scenarios for oil demand, with the timing of peak demand varying from the next few years to beyond 2040.
"Despite these differences, the scenarios share two common features,” BP stated.
All the scenarios suggest that oil will continue to play a significant role in the global energy system in 2040, with the level of oil demand by then ranging from around 80 million barrels per day (mb/d) to 130 mb/d. Secondly, significant levels of investment are required for sufficient supplies of oil to meet demand in 2040.
BP said if future investments are limited to developing existing fields without investments in new production areas, global production would decline at an average rate of around 4.5 percent (based on the International Energy Agency's estimates), implying global oil supply would be only around 35 mb/d in 2040.
"Closing the gap between this supply profile and any of the demand scenarios in the Outlook would require many trillions of dollars of investment over the next 20 years,” the report highlighted.
(Anadolu Agency)
