, Columnist
The Crude Truth Is Oil’s Not What It Used To Be
The pre-pandemic peak in demand reached in 2018 will be trickier to hit again than headlines indicate.
Pump jacks extracting crude oil from wells in Midland, Texas, during the pre-pandemic demand peak.
Photographer: Angus Mordant/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
To judge by the energy industry’s most trusted forecasters, consumption of crude oil is blasting ahead with no peak in sight.
Usage will rise to a record 102.2 million barrels a day this year, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. It will still be climbing at a brisk pace when it hits 105.7 mb/d at the end of the IEA’s current five-year forecast in 2028. Demand for oil will rise by about 16 quads, or roughly 7.5 mb/d, between 2021 and a peak in 2040, according to Exxon Mobil Corp.’s latest energy outlook.