This Year’s Global Oil Demand at 95.89 Million Barrels... Up 6 Million Barrels from Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] It is forecasted that global oil demand this year will increase by about 6 million barrels compared to last year, which was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the 3rd, global oil demand in 2021 is expected to reach 95.89 million barrels, an increase of 5.9 million barrels compared to the previous year.

OPEC explained, "The factors driving the increase in oil demand this year include increased infrastructure investment, expanded construction and industrial activities, rising petrochemical demand in China and the United States, and overall demand growth across all petroleum products compared to 2020."

Specifically, OECD crude oil demand this year is expected to be 44.86 million barrels, and non-OECD countries are expected to demand 51.04 million barrels. This represents an increase of 2.59 million barrels and 3.31 million barrels respectively compared to the previous year. In particular, U.S. oil demand is projected to rise by 1.27 million barrels to 19.97 million barrels.

Despite the expected increase in global oil demand compared to last year, refining margins and profitability for refineries are unlikely to improve. This is because the global oil demand this year (95.89 million barrels) is still 2.5 million barrels less than in 2019 (99.76 million barrels), before the COVID-19 outbreak.

An official from the refining industry explained, "Due to repeated COVID-19 outbreaks and ongoing social distancing, even though international oil prices have risen, refining margins remain around the $1 level," adding, "Until vaccination becomes widespread, profitability in the refining business is unlikely to improve significantly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.