Growing Demand For Oil Research Articles

Long-Term Forecasting Models of Oil Demand Emerging from the Global Petrochemical Sector

In the global energy mix by 2040, the growth in demand for oil and gas will be predominantly driven by the petrochemical sector across all regions of the world. The strong performance of this industry is anticipated to necessitate additional volumes of key feedstocks. Therefore, understanding the demand dynamics within the petrochemical sector is crucial for policy makers and industry stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding economic diversification, economic planning, and environmental sustainability. However, there is a notable lack of existing literature that explicitly addresses comprehensive regional and product-level demand modeling for petrochemical feedstocks. In this context, this study aims to estimate the demand for four main petrochemical feedstocks (Naphtha, Ethane, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), and other petrochemical feedstocks) across eight regions of the world. By estimating a total of 30 equations for price and income elasticities of demand in both the short and long term, the study provides detailed insights into the factors driving demand across different regions. The results demonstrate the robustness of the model, with good econometric properties and significant coefficients. In-sample regional simulations revealed small percentage errors across all regional equations, highlighting the model’s accuracy in tracking historical data. For each of the four feedstocks, an aggregate world equation—in other words, one single econometric world equation for each of the four petrochemical feedstocks’ categories mentioned earlier—was also estimated and compared against the aggregation of the regional simulations, with the latter found to track the history of global petrochemical feedstock demand better in-sample than a single econometric world equation. Overall, the study offers valuable contributions to the existing literature by filling a gap in comprehensive demand modeling for petrochemical feedstocks. It underscores the importance of regional and product-level analyses in understanding global demand patterns and informing strategic decisions in the industry.

Exploring vehicle preference dynamics: Analyzing the influence of oil price volatility on consumer car purchase decisions - A comparative survey experiment

China's automobile market is continuously expanding, leading to ongoing growth in oil demand. Fluctuations in oil prices will inevitably impact the travel patterns and car purchasing behavior of automotive consumers. This paper analyzes the influence of gasoline price fluctuations on the travel patterns and car purchasing behaviors of auto consumers with varying incomes, employing a dynamic perspective. We conducted a questionnaire survey of auto consumers in four first-tier cities in China and performed a comparative analysis of questionnaire data from 2015 to 2022. The empirical findings are as follows: (1) Under conditions of elevated oil prices, fuel car consumers exhibit an increased susceptibility to oil price fluctuations, which may cause fuel car consumers to curtail their travel activities. (2) The 10 yuan/liter is the threshold for middle - and upper-income consumers to change their car buying or travel habits, which has not been affected by oil price fluctuations. (3) For the cohort considering electric vehicles, gasoline prices stand as the primary determinant influencing their car buying choices. The primary conclusions serve as significant references for the government to craft corresponding carbon emission reduction policies amidst fluctuating oil prices.

PH-switchable hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents for sustainable recycling extraction of high oily waste

The accumulation of oily waste increases annually with the growth in crude oil demand. Its toxicity and high heating value present both opportunities and challenges for treatment technologies. In recent years, the emergence of hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (HDES) has promoted advancements in low-toxicity extraction processes. Leveraging the advantages of HDES and addressing the challenges posed by real oily sawdust (with a 67.9 % oil content), this study presents a novel green HDES solvent composed of ethyl maltol and fatty acids, accompanied by a corresponding extraction process. At a low temperature of 60 °C, the process achieved impressive results: an oil extraction efficiency close to 86.3 %, a dehydration rate exceeding 92.2 %, and a heavy metal removal rate ranging from 15 % to 75 %. In the exploration of solvents recycling, pH-switching facilitated the deprotonation and protonation of phenol-fatty acid HDES, promoting effective recovery of the oil phase. Even after 5 cycles, the oil extraction rate could still be maintained above 75 %. It is worth noting that the regenerated HDES exhibited greater selectivity for extracting light oil after multiple uses. The total ratio of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons reached approximately 81.7 %, significantly enhancing the value of the recovered oil. Integrating systematic characterization with the extraction performance, as well as the variation in recovered oil phase components, highlighted the multifaceted effects of introducing ethyl maltol. Specifically, this effect is demonstrated in its ability to enhance the oil phase’s solubility by regulating the intermolecular spacing of HDES, and to impede the dissolution of heavy oil into its gaps by optimizing the local zone through the formation of complexes with HDES and heavy metals.

Biofuel policies and their ripple effects: An analysis of vegetable oil price dynamics and global consumer responses

The paper analyzes the price dynamics of Palm, Soybean, Rapeseed, and Sunflower oils due to their extensive uses in the food and fuel sectors and recent considerable price increases. We consider the impact of biofuel policies and consumers’ responses. Using Johansen cointegration and VECM, we identify two long-term equilibrium relationships that arise from biofuel policies as our first key finding. In our second insight, an asymmetric AR-EGARCH-DCC model results show heightened volatility and correlation responses to vegetable oil price deviations, especially post-biofuel. Biofuel policies significantly influence shifts in time-varying correlations among these price shocks. Finally, we examine how household consumers in nine countries respond to price shocks with a structural VAR model. The post-biofuel policy era markedly influenced consumer reactions regarding vegetable oil price fluctuations. While most nations show decreased sentiment with price hikes, China and Germany see increased consumer sentiment. South Africa’s response varies by oil type. Biofuel policies amplify these effects on consumer confidence across all studied countries. These findings have significant implications for policymakers trying to balance the energy transition and global food security while promoting sustainable growth in vegetable oil demand across both sectors and ensuring price stability for global agricultural commodities.

Fuels substitution possibilities, environment and the technological progress in Bangladesh’s transport sector

The transport sector is a key engine of Bangladesh’s quick oil demand growth. It accounted for 64.4% of overall Bangladesh oil consumption in 2019 and is, therefore, a third contributor to CO2 emissions and related pollutants. The substitutability of energy and non-energy factors is the key issue in framing and planning energy policies. Therefore, we determine a translog production function for the transport sector, including inputs labor, capital and energy. The research analyzes factor output and substitution possibilities from 1990 to 2019. Outcomes show (a) labor output elasticity is higher, followed by energy and capital. (b) All the substituting factors are rising return to scale, with relatively high substitution (around 1.63–2.05, 1.05–1.06, 0.77–0.92) between capital-labor, capital-energy and labor-energy, which proposes that the substitution between capital-labor and capital-energy could be attained through updating technology. Therefore, by giving maximum capital to the transport sector, appropriate energy-conserving technology could be maximally encouraged, and capital-energy substitutability would have better results in the future. (c) Though, technical progress is calculated to be between 0.009 and 0.14 between the various inputs. The input labor-energy is quicker substitutes with their relative difference in technological progress, while capital also presents proof of convergence. By assigning additional capital to the transport sector, energy-saving technologies could be enhanced and CO2 emissions reduction could be achieved. Finally, advancement in capital and skilled labor and, thus, substitution between energy-labor and the transition of labor-capital can be achieved.

The Influence of Reservoir Clay Composition on Heavy Oil In Situ Combustion

Thermally enhanced oil recovery methods, such as in situ combustion and steam injection, are generating considerable interest in terms of improving oil reserve exploitation and satisfying oil demand and economic growth. However, the early breakthrough of the in situ combustion front and the significant amount of heat loss associated with steam injection for deeper reservoir applications are the main challenges that require urgent solutions. Further data collection related to the effects of a reservoir’s physical and chemical properties, temperature, and pressure on in situ combustion front propagation and steam injection heat transfer inefficiency would be needed to achieve better reservoir oil recovery. Most studies have focused on the application of catalytic systems and the investigation of minerals’ effects on combustion front stabilization; however, the effect of clay interlayers’ minerals on the performance of in situ combustion is still poorly understood. This paper takes a new look at the role played by the interlayers’ minerals in stabilizing the combustion front using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) combined with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and combustion tube experiments. The studied samples’ compositions were analyzed by XRD, TG/DSC, and NMR techniques. Meanwhile, the effects of interlayers’ minerals on oil production were screened by combustion tube experiments. The data obtained from this study suggest that clay dispersion within a reservoir would improve oil recovery via in situ combustion, and our study led us to obtain an 80.5% recovery factor. However, the experiments of models with clay interlayers showed less recovery factors, and the model with interlayers led to a 0% recovery factor in the presence of air injection. Meanwhile, the same model in hydrothermal and air injection conditions led to a 13.9% recovery factor. This was due to the hydrothermal effect improving permeability and pore enlargement, which allowed the transfer of heat and matter. Moreover, our study found that clay minerals exhibit excellent catalytic effects on the formation of fuel deposition and the coke oxidation process. This effect was reflected in the significant role played by clay minerals in decreasing the number of heteroatoms by breaking down the C-S, C-N, and C-O bonds and by stimulating the processes of hydrocarbon polymerization during the in situ combustion. Our results add to a growing body of literature related to in situ combustion challenges and underline the importance of a reservoir’s physical parameters in the successful application of in situ combustion.

Does Renminbi internationalization matter for petroleum security in China? Evidence from a disaggregate analysis

AbstractAs the largest oil consumer and sixth largest oil producer in the world, China's growing oil import is a premise to its energy security concerns. For China, petroleum security means supply security. The paper disaggregates petroleum security into three dimensions (domestic petroleum price—DOP, petroleum supply—PS and petroleum reserve—PR) and examines the impact of Renminbi internationalization (RMBI) on these dimensions based on linear auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) procedure, and monthly data spanning from 2011M01 to 2022M03. The empirical results reveal evidence of long run equilibrium relationship between PR, PS and RMBI. On the long run and short run dynamics, RMBI is inversely related to DOP both in the short run and long run, but the impact is less than proportionately. However, RMBI and PS co‐move in the short run with 0.24% margin. In the same vein, RMBI and PR co‐move both in the short run and long run significantly. The impact of international oil price is positive on DOP but negative on PS and PR at least in the short run. Our finding signalled to the fact that increasing acceptance of the RMB in trade settlements and crude oil invoicing serve as a comparative advantage for China to engage in oil trade and complement the oil demand growth threatening the country's energy security drive. Therefore, we suggest diversification of crude oil import sources especially to regions/countries where RMB has been widely accepted. Prominence should be given to government controlled Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) and large oil companies should be compelled to raise the level of mandatory oil reserve for sustainable supply that keep pace with the growing demand for oil.

Jet fuel demand hit by Omicron; recovery delayed until 2023/2024

Jet fuel demand hit by Omicron; recovery delayed until 2023/2024

Comments: Oil Demand Optimism

Forecasts for oil demand are looking up, according to OPEC and the International Energy Agency as of mid-July. Will the optimistic views prove to be on target? We have learned how the market can shift or wildly careen, both historically and in the very recent past. Looking at the forecasts, which reflect a consensus of sorts, is encouraging for producers. OPEC’s monthly report of 15 July projected global oil demand to reach nearly 100 million B/D next year, a level similar to pre-pandemic in 2019. The 2021 oil demand growth remains unchanged at 5.95 million B/D, or approximately 6.6%. Led by demand growth in the US, China, and India, a 3.4% increase is expected in 2022 to 99.86 million B/D and would average more than 100 million B/D in the second half of the year. “Solid expectations exist for global economic growth in 2022,” OPEC said. “These include improved containment of COVID-19, particularly in emerging and developing countries, which are forecast to spur oil demand to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022.” If the actual recovery tracks with these predictions, OPEC can dial back further its record-level supply cuts made in 2020. The IEA points to the growth expected in global electricity demand as spurring fossil-fuel demand, including oil, coal, and natural gas. After falling by around 1% in 2020, electricity demand growth may approach 5% in 2021 and 4% in 2022. The Asia Pacific region will account for the majority of the increases. China, the world’s largest consumer of electricity, leads the tally, accounting for more than 50% of the 2022 growth. India, the third largest, will account for 9% of the global electricity growth. Renewables are expected to be able to serve around half of the projected growth in global demand in 2021 and 2022. IEA wrote, “Renewable electricity generation continues to grow strongly—but cannot keep up with increasing demand. After expanding by 7% in 2020, electricity generation from renewables is forecast to increase by 8% in 2021 and by more than 6% in 2022.” Fossil fuel-based electricity is set to cover 45% of additional demand in 2021 and 40% in 2022. After declining by 4.6% in 2020, coal-fired electricity generation will increase by nearly 5% in 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, it will grow another 3% and could reach an all-time high. Natural gas-generated electricity lags coal because it is less commonly used in the Asia Pacific and competes with renewables in the US and Europe. It is expected to increase globally by 1% in 2021 and by nearly 2% in 2022 after declining by 2% in 2020. The US Energy Information Administration published a global financial review last month of 91 oil and gas companies, most headquartered in the US, in the first quarter 2021. It indicated that companies are implementing their plans announced over the past year to reduce capital expenditures to pay down debt. Capital expenditure in 1Q2021 was reported as $48 billion, 28% lower than in 1Q2020 and the second- lowest amount for any quarter since 2016. Cash from operations in Q1 this year totaled $79 billion, 19% higher than in 1Q2020; about 76% of companies had positive free cash flow. Overall, the companies decreased debt by $16 billion in 1Q2021, and the long-term debt-to-equity ratio decreased to 54%.

Africa Set To Fuel Asian Growth and Its Own Brighter Future

Africa is on track to becoming the world’s most populous region by 2023 as growth in the continent’s population surpasses that of China and India; between 2020 and 2040, one in every two births will be African, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The problem—and the opportunity—is that three-quarters of those new global citizens living in sub-Saharan Africa will live without access to electricity and other energy-driven staples of the modern world. “More than half a billion people [will be] added to Africa’s urban population by 2040, much higher than the growth seen in China’s urban population in the two decades of China’s economic and energy boom,” IEA noted in its Africa Energy Outlook 2019. “Growing urban populations mean rapid growth in energy demand for industrial production, cooling, and mobility,” IEA analysts wrote. “The projected growth in oil demand is higher than that of China and second only to that of India as the size of the car fleet more than doubles (the bulk of which have low fuel efficiency) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is increasingly used for clean cooking.” With regards to gas, Africa is on track to becoming the third-largest region to feed the growth in global gas demand over the next 20 years, the IEA said (Fig. 1). Africa accounted for 8.8% of the world’s oil production in 2019, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020. Nigeria was Africa’s top oil producer at 2.2%; Algeria was next at 1.6%; then Angola, 1.5%; and Libya, 1.3%. BP economists calculated Africa contributed 6.0% to the world’s natural gas production in 2019. They ranked Algeria as the continent’s top gas producer at a global share of 2.2% followed by Egypt, 1.6%, and Nigeria, 1.2%. Africa’s hydrocarbon-producing nations have always depended on fossil fuel and mineral exports for the foreign exchange that feeds their economies. But as the continent’s population grows and its demographics become younger and more urban, Africa is revealing itself as a “barefoot shoemaker”—wealthy to the extreme in fossil fuels and renewables, but with three-quarters of its sub-Saharan population living without electricity. Africa’s R/P (reserves-to-production) ratio is about half that of the Middle East and a quarter of first-place South America. But it is worth asking if South America’s high R/P is not due to years of high-profile exploration, while Africa—with a west-coastal geology similar to South America’s east coast—is simply underexplored. The World Bank has declared 32 of the continent’s 48 nations to be in an energy crisis considering that their gross domestic product (GDP) growth is outpacing power generation by a factor of three to four times. Investment is vital to turning this situation around, and the most attractive investment opportunities pre-pandemic were found in Nigeria, Mozambique, Egypt, Mauritania, and Equatorial Guinea, according to the organizers of Africa Oil Week (AOW), an exploration and production (E&P) investment conference held annually for 27 years.

Trends in global dependency on the Indonesian palm oil and resultant environmental impacts

Rapid growth in the international demand for palm oil has triggered considerable global concern because oil palm plantations deteriorate the environment where they are developed, resulting in complex environmental impacts in the producer nations. Here, we illustrate the historical trends in the structure of Indonesian palm oil supply chains and how these have been affected by the final demand of other nations since 2000 by using the most recent dataset of global material flows of palm oil and a global input–output database. In addition, the combination of spatial land-use change with palm oil consumption along the supply chains illustrates the linkages between ultimate consumption and land-use changes due to the palm oil plantations. As a result, the major contributors to palm oil production in Indonesia were mostly stable, being India, China, Western Europe, the United States, and Japan. However, the contribution of Indonesia declined by 6% during 2000–2013, illustrating a possible shift towards palm oil being used for non-food demands, such as apparel and medicines. Building on consumption-based accounting schemes as demonstrated by this study are considered necessary to protect local ecosystems and society.

Comments: Market Remains Out of Balance

Editor's column Five years since the start of the precipitous oil price drop that led to the industry’s worst recession since the 1980s, the oil market is still struggling with supply/demand balances and price stability. Recent oil market forecasts reach essentially the same conclusion: the market will remain oversupplied into 2020, weighing on prices for the short term. In early July, OPEC and other major producers decided to extend production cuts into 2020 in an attempt to keep oil prices steady as global demand growth appeared to be slowing and US unconventionals output continued to rise. Global oil demand is predicted to increase by more than 1 million B/D this year, but that is lower than OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) had forecast at the beginning of this year. OPEC, Russia, and other producers agreed to cut overall output by 1.2 million B/D in January and met in July to reassess the market. Even with the supply cuts, oil prices have dropped since hitting a high of $75/bbl for Brent in April. Slower world economic growth and the US-China trade dispute have undercut prices along with the rise in US production. The 11 OPEC members that are participating in the deal actually exceeded their required cuts, reaching 143% of compliance in May, according to the Reuters news agency. The producers’ group formed after oil prices began to fall sharply in the summer of 2014, from over $100/bbl to eventually under $30/bbl because of a supply glut caused primarily from a huge increase in US unconventionals output. In the first half of this year, world supply exceeded demand by 900,000 B/D, according to the IEA, which means OPEC may need to lower its cumulative production to its lowest level in 17 years next year to keep markets balanced. “Clearly, market tightness is not an issue for the time being and any rebalancing seems to have moved further into the future,” the IEA said in its monthly report issued in July. Global oil demand growth in the first quarter of this year was the slowest since 2011 and rose less than expected in the second quarter, according to the IEA. In addition, non-OPEC production, led by US shale, continued to expand. The task by producers trying to keep the market in balance will be even tougher next year. The IEA lowered its forecast for 2020 and increased its projections for non-OPEC output. That means the oil needed from OPEC will again decline, to well below its current output rate. About 29.1 million B/D will be required from OPEC next year, compared with output of 29.9•million B/D currently. OPEC production is already running below normal given the voluntary cutbacks and the crisis in Venezuela. “The picture will evolve as 2019 progresses but in the near term the main focus remains (world) demand growth,” the IEA said. The US Energy Information Administration lowered its oil demand growth forecast to 1.1 million B/D in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, issued in July. A year ago, it predicted global growth of 1.4 million B/D. It now predicts that US oil production will average 12.4 million B/D this year and 13.3 million B/D next year.

Aramco pledges $100 billion in chemical investment

The Saudi national oil company Saudi Aramco plans to invest $100 billion in chemicals, not including acquisitions, over the next decade, according to CEO Amin H. Nasser, who spoke at the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association Forum in Dubai last week. He told the audience that he believes the future of the oil industry lies in chemicals. “Chemicals alone will represent about one-third of the growth in world oil demand between now and 2030 and nearly half to 2050, ahead of trucks, aviation, and shipping,” Nasser said. In April, Aramco announced $60 billion in projects in Saudi Arabia, the US, and India. The company is also negotiating to acquire compatriot chemical maker Saudi Basic Industries.

Determinants of oil price subsidies in oil and gas exporting countries

This paper investigates the implicit subsidization of refined products in oil and gas exporting countries. Most of these countries, as well as some other countries (mostly developing countries, but one could argue that US gasoline prices do not account for external costs), distribute large subsidies. Subsidies that are offered for a long period, are not only inefficient, but also dangerous due to gradual increases in the energy demand. Low domestic prices have led to immense oil demand growth that cannot continue if these countries wish to continue exporting. Only very high price jumps can stop this development, but politically these price jumps are very costly, if not suicidal, for many governments. Indeed, we argue that the currently low oil prices not only harm oil and gas exporting countries, but also provide a unique opportunity to eliminate this costly subsidy policy at manageable political costs. This paper begins with theoretical, normative and positive explanations of low domestic energy prices, and then addresses how to phase out subsidies, again from a normative and positive perspective. Finally, we empirically address the obstacles that individual countries may face when attempting to eliminate subsidies by quantifying the factors (political, economic, and social) that influence the existing subsidies.

Experimental and predictive PC-SAFT modeling results for density and isothermal compressibility for two crude oil samples at elevated temperatures and pressures

Rapid growth in world oil demand is driving the oil and gas industry to search for petroleum in deep wells where elevated temperatures and pressures prevail. Accurate knowledge of thermodynamic properties such as density and isothermal compressibility at in-situ conditions is necessary to estimate the recoverable oil from these deep reservoirs. Yet, crude oil density data in the open literature for pressures exceeding 155 MPa are scarce or nonexistent.In this study, we present density data for two Gulf of Mexico crude oils at pressures from 3 to 276 MPa and temperatures up to 523 K. Measurements on the liquid fraction of the crude oil were made along three isotherms at temperatures T = (323, 423, and 523) K and at pressures from near-ambient platform to ultra-deep reservoir conditions. The liquid fraction of the crude oils or “dead” oils contained numerous components including alkanes, branched-alkanes, cyclo-alkanes, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. For simplicity, the composition of each dead oil was represented as three pseudocomponents - saturates, aromatics and resins, and asphaltenes. Methane gas at two concentrations (5 and 10 wt%) was added to the dead oils to obtain synthetic live crude oils. Experimental density data for the two live oil samples are also reported at four isotherms and similar pressure conditions. The uncertainty in the reported densty data is less than ±1%. A Tait relationship was used to correlate the measured density data; from this relationship, a reference value for isothermal compressibility was obtained. The present density and isothermal compressibility data have been compared with predictions from the Perturbed Chain version of the Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) without the use of any fitting parameters. A special set of new PC-SAFT parameters accurate for one-phase calculations at high-pressure, high-temperature conditions was used; these parameters were predicted with a knowledge of the measured aromaticity of the oil under investigation. Oil density values were predicted to within 1–4% of experimental values on average, and isothermal compressibility values were within 1–10% on average.

Outlook Points to Peak Transport Demand for Oil

Transportation is the linchpin of oil consumption, responsible for more than 50% of the oil that the world uses every day and almost 70% of that consumed daily in the United States. Forecasters all agree that the global vehicle fleet, the dominant factor in transportation demand for oil-based fuels and the major source of transport-sector growth, will expand greatly in the next 20 to 30 years. Thus, it is notable that BP in its 2017 Energy Outlook forecasts, as a base case, that by the mid-2030s, transport demand growth for oil will slow to a trickle, while demand for noncombusted oil use—particularly in the petrochemicals industry—will become the chief driver of oil demand growth. Specifically, over the outlook period of 2017–2035, the growth in transport demand will decelerate from 1 million B/D per year to 0.4 million B/D per year and level off, while the demand for noncombusted oil use will increase by 6 million B/D. Not every forecast agrees with this. The International Energy Agency and ExxonMobil, for example, believe that transport demand will continue to drive oil consumption growth for substantially longer. On the other hand, Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden recently said that oil demand as a whole could peak in the early 2030s and possibly sooner with higher biofuel use. There are forecasts from outside the industry that show oil demand peaking and starting to decline sooner rather than later. Implications for Industry The point is not that one forecast or the other is correct, but rather to start thinking about the implications of a transport demand for oil that no longer increases. It is bound to happen at some point, even if the more robust demand forecasts prove correct. What will the industry begin to look like when transport no longer delivers market growth? But first, what is the case for anticipating a slowing and leveling in transport demand by approximately 2035? “It’s largely the significant improvement in the fuel efficiency of the world’s vehicle fleet,” said Mark Finley, general manager of global energy markets and US economics at BP, who was on the team that produced the latest Energy Outlook.

The Distribution of Petroleum Resources and Characteristics of Main Petroliferous Basins along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st‐Century Maritime Silk Road

AbstractThe Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st‐Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, abbreviated as the Belt and Road Initiative, is a primary development strategy of China's future international cooperation. Especially, the energy resource cooperation, including oil and gas resources cooperation, is an important part of this initiative. The Belt and Road has undergone complicated geological evolution, and contains abundant mineral resources such as oil, gas, coal, uranium, iron, copper, gold and manganese ore resources. Among these, Africa holds 7.8% of the world's total proven oil reserves. The oil and gas resources in Africa are relatively concentrated, with an overall low exploration degree and small consumption demand. Nigeria and Libya contain the most abundant oil resources in Africa, accounting for 2.2% and 2.9% of the world's total reserves, respectively. Nigeria and Algeria hold the richest natural gas resources in Africa, occupying 2.8% and 2.4% of the world's total reserves, respectively. Africa's oil and gas resources are mainly concentrated in Egypt, Sultan and Western Sahara regions in the northern Africa, and the Gulf of Guinea, Niger River and Congo River area in the western Africa. The Russia–Central Asia area holds rich petroleum resources in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The potential oil and gas areas include the West Siberia Basin, East Siberia Basin and sea continental shelf in Russia, the northern and central Caspian Basin in Kazakhstan, the right bank of the Amu‐Darya Basin, the East Karakum uplift and the South Caspian Basin in Turkmenistan, and the Amu–Daria Basin, Fergana Basin, Afghan–Tajik Basin and North Ustyurt Basin in Uzbekistan. The Middle East oil and gas resources are mainly distributed in the Zagros foreland basin and Arabian continental margin basin, and the main oil‐producing countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. The Asia Pacific region is a new oil and gas consumption center, with rapid growth of oil and gas demand. In 2012, this region consumed about 33.6% of the world's total oil consumption and 18.9% of the world's total natural gas consumption, which has been ranked the world's largest oil and gas consumption center. The oil and gas resources are concentrated in China, Indosinian, Malaysia, Australia and India. The abundant European proven crude oil reserves are in Norway, Britain and Denmark and also rich natural gas resources in Norway, Holland and Britain. Norway and Britain contain about 77.5% of European proven oil reserves, which accounts for only 0.9% of the world's proven reserves. The Europe includes main petroliferous basins of the Voring Basin, Anglo–Dutch Basin, Northwest German Basin, Northeast German–Polish Basin and Carpathian Basin. According to the analysis of source rocks, reservoir rocks, cap rocks and traps for the main petroliferous basins, the potential oil and gas prospecting targets in the Belt and Road are mainly the Zagros Basin and Arabic Platform in the Middle East, the East Barents Sea Basin and the East Siberia Basin in Russia–Central Asia, the Niger Delta Basin, East African rift system and the Australia Northwest Shelf. With the development of oil and gas theory and exploration technology, unconventional petroleum resources will play an increasingly important role in oil and gas industry.

LOOKING AHEAD: India's oil demand growth slows down as demand patterns shift

LOOKING AHEAD: India's oil demand growth slows down as demand patterns shift

SURVEY: Global refining industry competes to supply growing Asian market

A survey of the growth in oil demand in Asia and what refiners across the world are planning to do in order to meet it, by Oil and Energy Trends' Consulting Editor, Dr Paul McDonald

Oilseeds and vegetable oils in asia: a world of diversity

Out of the two dozen countries that constitute what is generally called “Asia”, some are the largest in the world while others are islands with smaller populations. When looking at oilseeds and vegetable oils in the region, one is faced with the same huge diversity which makes it complex to analyze, all the more that statistics are not easily available for many countries. Aside from the large differences in size, the region covers a wide spectrum of diversified climate environments. Asia is also mainly characterized by its huge population which has become largely urban, a key factor leading to the impressive growth of vegetable oil demand in the past 30 years. At an verage of 23.2 kg/year, Asian per capita consumption of oils and fats still remains slightly below the world average of 28.3 kg/capita/year. Therefore, although 53% of the world population is located in Asia, only 45% of world oils and fats is consumed in the region. As detailed in the paper, the world of Asian oilseeds and vegetable oils is highly concentrated on soybeans and palm oil. In spite of a large domestic production in China (12.3 MnT), soybeans are imported in huge quantities, mostly by China (78 MnT, 84% of the region’s imports) where more than 28% of world soybeans production is being crushed. Palm oil, the second large commodity consumed in the region, is mainly produced within the region, mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia. So where is the “world of diversity”? Hidden behind those two dominant commodities, practically all of the ten oilseeds constituting the core of the world production are grown in significant quantities in the region while, for vegetable oils, all those of significant importance are produced within the region with the exception of olive oil. The main question that should be kept in mind when reviewing this large regional demand is under what condition will future vegetable oil production be able to meet the expected rise of per capita oils and fats demand within the region, particularly from the three largest populated countries that are China, India and Indonesia.