BP: Global Oil Production Fell by 0.2% in 2007

July 14, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

The BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008 also reported that global oil consumption grew by 1 million barrels per day in 2007, a 1.1% increase that brought total petroleum consumption to 85.2 million barrels per day.

Oil demand exceeded the supply by 3.7 million barrels per day, a difference made up by drawing from stocks and by substituting biofuels for petroleum products, according to the report.

According to the BP statistics, oil demand exceeded the supply since at least 1997 when the difference was 1.4 million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, the world's proved oil reserves fell by 1.6 billion barrels in 2007 due to declines in Mexico, Norway, Qatar and Syria that were only partially offset by gains in Brazil, Egypt and Russia, according to the report.

But that's a drop of only 0.115% because global proved oil reserves are at 1.39 trillion barrels. According to BP, oil production declines are caused by political issues, not geological factors, as oil companies are having trouble gaining access to oil reserves.

Gas
World natural gas consumption grew by an above-average 3.1% in 2007 although only North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa recorded above average regional growth, according to the report.

The U.S. accounted for nearly half of the world's gas consumption growth driven by cold winter weather and strong demand for gas in power generation.

Chinese consumption grew by 19.9% and accounted for the second largest increment to global gas consumption. European Union (EU) consumption declined by 1.6%, which is the second consecutive decline due to warm winter weather.

Gas production rose by 2.4% in 2007. The U.S. accounted for the largest increment to supply, growing by 4.3%, which is the strongest growth since 1984, according to the report.

EU production declined by 6.4%, with UK output falling by 9.5%, the world's largest volumetric decline for a second consecutive year, according to the report.

A small decline in Russian production was more than offset by strong growth elsewhere in the former Soviet Union (FSU), according to the report. China and Qatar recorded the second- and third-largest increments to production, increasing by 18.4% and 17.9% respectively.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments rose by 7.3% supported by continued growth in shipments from Qatar and Nigeria, according to the report. U.S. LNG receipts rose by one-third as a large price premium to European spot markets resulted in the diversion of cargoes to the U.S.

Coal
Coal was the fastest growing fuel in the world for the fourth consecutive year, according to the report. Global consumption rose by 4.5%. Consumption growth was widespread with growth in every region except the Middle East exceeding the 10-year average.

Chinese coal consumption rose by 7.9%, the weakest growth since 2002, but more than two-thirds of global growth. Indian consumption rose by 6.6% and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) consumption rose by 1.3%, both above average figures, according to the report.

Nuclear and hydroelectric
Nuclear power output fell by 2%, the steepest decline on record, according to the report.

However, more than 90% of this decline was accounted for by Germany and Japan, which saw the world's largest nuclear power plant closed following an earthquake.

Hydroelectric generation increased by 1.7%, slightly below the 10-year average. Increased capacity in China and Brazil was partially offset by drought-related declines in the U.S. and Southern Europe.

Renewables
Renewable energy remains a small share of total global energy use but most renewable sources experienced rapid growth in 2007, according to the report.

Ethanol output rose by 27.8%. Global capacity for wind and solar electricity generation grew broadly in line with historical averages of 28.5% and 37% respectively.

The BP Statistical Review of World Energy is available at www.bp.com/statisticalreview.

Source: BP.