World Business

Global oil demand to increase by 5m bpd in 5 years: Kuwait

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-27 10:21

KUWAIT CITY: Gulf oil-exporter Kuwait said on Monday the world oil demand is estimated to increase by around 5 million barrels per day in the next five years.

"The fastest growth will be in Asia, whose consumption is expected to account for more than 30 percent of the global demand, " Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah told the opening ceremony of the 18th Middle East Oil and Gas Conference in Kuwait City.

Sheikh Ahmad said the Middle East countries that together hold 65 percent of the world's proven reserves will remain the main provider for the growing world demand.

He said China and India will lead the growth in emerging markets, with China's crude imports expected to reach around 7 million barrels per day by 2015.

Kuwait, the fourth largest exporter of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has inked an agreement with China to build a joint refinery in China's southern Guangdong province.

Expected to be completed in 2013, the unit would have a crude oil refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day and produce 1 million tons of ethylene per year.

More than 550 participants, including government officials and oil company representatives, are gathering for the three-day Mideast oil and gas conference focusing on the latest concerns and developments in the oil and gas industry.