Opec has delivered an optimistic assessment of the state of the world economy, finding that oil demand has grown by 1m barrels per day in 2010, more than double the forecast level.
The club of 12 leading oil producers predicted that demand would expand by another 5.4m b/d over the medium term, reaching 89.9m b/d by 2014, 800,000 barrels “higher than expected”.
The cartel’s annual World Oil Outlook, released on Thursday, says a “swifter than expected recovery from the global recession has led to positive impacts upon demand”. The world would have consumed an average of 85.5m b/d this year, higher than expected, but still slightly below the pre-recession demand level of 85.75m b/d seen in 2007.