WEO 2018: petrochemicals to drive future oil demand

In November 2018, the International Energy Agency published the World Energy Outlook 2018, which shows that energy demand is set to grow by more than 25% to 2040, requiring more than $2 trillion a year of investment in new energy supply. It also foresees that petrochemicals will become the largest source of growth in oil use.

Major transformations are underway for the global energy sector, from growing electrification to the expansion of renewables, upheavals in oil production and globalization of natural gas markets. Oil use for cars will drop in the mid-2020s, but petrochemicals, trucks, planes and ships still keep overall oil demand on a rising trend. The main outcome of the study is that policy choices made by governments will be crucial to shape the global energy future. “Our analysis shows that over 70% of global energy investments will be government-driven and as such the message is clear – the world’s energy destiny lies with government decisions,”

For further information, please read the Executive Summary.