360 million barrels per day of oil equivalent:
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A New Energy Era
The global oil and gas industry has been shaken by the drastic fall in oil prices, which resulted in collapsed earnings, job losses, operational shutdowns and project cancellations. The good news is that the market has started to recover, and that the industry is gradually entering its next growth cycle.
This fact bodes well for the global energy security, as oil & gas remains to be the world’ s foremost source of energy, even as the world progressively moves towards alternatives.
The world’ s primary energy demand today is approximately 280 million barrels per day of oil equivalent. An estimated 80 % of it is supplied by fossil fuels, and around a third is met by oil. By 2040 the primary global energy demand will rise to 360 million, some 75 % of it will still be satisfied by fossil fuels.
Although the share of fossil fuels in the global energy mix diminishes by 2040, their demand in absolute terms still grows, rising from 230 million barrels per day of oil equivalent to 270 million. For oil specifically, it is expected to increase from over 96 million barrels per day to an estimated 104 million.
Even as the role of oil & gas in the global energy mix remains significant for decades to come, however, the industry cannot
afford to be complacent and stay stagnant in the face of imminent change.
In his opening keynote speech on Day 2 of the 2016 World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, calls on the energy and oil & gas players to take up the cause of developing and embracing innovative ways of doing business as the industry crosses over the next phase.
“ Low oil prices do not change the fact that the current oil and gas resources, as well as new discoveries, are more challenging and more expensive to develop. Equally, today’ s oil and gas fields are becoming increasingly mature and complex to operate. And although alternatives and renewables face hurdles, their role will steadily grow, as the world moves towards a new energy era driven by the Paris Agreement on climate change.”
“ Navigating the transition period will require a new road map, a real and holistic Energy 2.0, if you will.”
360 million barrels per day of oil equivalent:
The global primary energy demand by 2040
32 Construction Leaders • April 2017