Qatar expects world oil demand to increase by more than 50 %

Global oil demand is expected to increase by more than 50 % to 120 mm bpd by 2030, Qatar Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said in a speech to the World Petroleum Congress.
World demand for natural gas will also double with an additional 300 bn cm of new gas production capacity needed each year, which is equal to the current gas production capacity of the European members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Al-Attiyah said the investments required to meet expected energy demand will exceed $ 6 tn. "The projected investment requirements are enormous simply because energy projects are usually more capital intensive than projects in most other industries", he said.
The Middle East region will play a major role in meeting both oil and gas world demand as it contains 66 % of the world's proven oil reserves. In 2002, the Middle East produced 20 mm bpd of crude oil. Much of the increase in Middle East natural gas production will go to exports outside the region, al-Attiyah said.

Middle East gas output is expected to increase twelve-fold by 2030 with the majority going to European and US markets. Qatar, which started LNG exports in 1996, will have a capacity near 60 mm tpy of LNG in the next decade, he said.
"The region has recently emerged as a major exporter of LNG. Some short and medium distance pipelines are in operation or under construction. Long-distance pipelines to Asia and Europe are also likely to be built in the longer term", he said.