Politics

Global Energy Demand Forecast to Rise

By Clare Foran and National Journal
Picture of an oil platform belonging to the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras, at the port of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taken on December 27, 2011. Brazil has overtaken Britain as the world's sixth largest economy, a London-based research group said on December 26. In its latest World Economic League Table, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said Asian countries were moving up while European countries were slipping down. The Brazilian economy grew 7.5 percent in 2010, but the government has cut its growth projections to 3.5 percent for this year after the economy slowed in the third quarter. The CEBR says the US economy is the biggest, followed by China, Japan, Germany and France.  (National Journal)
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Despite progress in increasing energy-efficiency, population growth will drive energy demand higher across the globe, Fuel Fix reports.

Much of the upward trend in energy demand will come from outside of the U.S., however, from emerging economies such as India, China, and Brazil, which are expected to see growth in both gross domestic product and population.

"The GDP is a good indicator of the growth you will see," David Khemakhem, an energy and technology adviser for Exxon Mobil, said Saturday.

This growth will be partially offset by improved energy efficiency, but demand will also need to be met through other measures such as increased imports from countries like the U.S., which has had a domestic oil and natural-gas boom in recent years due to advances in drilling technology.