The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, announced on Wednesday that oil demand in 2014 will be 1.14 million barrels per day higher than 2013, at 91.1 million barrels per day altogether. This revised figure is 50,000 barrels per day higher than OPEC had previously estimated, thanks to increased North American consumption.
While this short-term figure is revised, OPEC’s long-term calculations will also be affected. The cartel has released energy consumption forecasts all the way to 2035, and it previously estimated global demand in 2015 would be 91-93 million barrels per day, and 94.4 million barrels per day in 2018.
R.I.P OPEC
Meanwhile, infighting in OPEC continues to be a topic of interest for domestic energy investors. Recently, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of funding insurgents in Iraq’s Anbar province. The US, as a non-member of the international oil cartel, continues to disrupt petrochemical incumbency with cheap and abundant shale gas.
