BP Says Energy Demand Will Rise 40% by 2030, Driven By Non-OECD

January 28, 2010, 01:22 PM EST

By Brian Swint and Eduard Gismatullin

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward said that global energy demand will increase about 40 percent in the next 20 years, driven by “the developing world in non-OECD” countries.

Demand for petroleum products is declining in some member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Hayward said today in a panel discussion in Davos, Switzerland.

“In the mature markets of Europe and Asia, demand for oil products is now in structural decline. None of us will sell more gasoline than we sold in 2007,” he said. This is “being offset by very strong rising demand in the markets of the East, in particular China,” he said.

BP, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA, Europe’s largest oil producers, are expanding their marketing operations in the developing countries in anticipation of higher demand for fuels because of growing economies. Explorers have been urging countries rich in oil resources to open access to fields where improved technology can boost production.

With regard to security of supply and fuel prices, companies need “to address the mismatch between where energy is produced and where it’s consumed,” Hayward said. “The challenge is how to actually meet this growing demand for oil and to keep the lid on prices.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-28/bp-says-energy-demand-will-rise-40-by-2030-driven-by-non-oecd.html