Oil demand to surpass pre-Covid levels by end of 2022, says IEA

Oil demand to surpass pre-Covid levels by end of 2022, says IEA

Oil demand is expected to exceed pre-coronavirus levels by the end of 2022, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.

Consumption declined by a record 8.6m barrels a day last year as coronavirus raged around the world. It is expected to rebound by 5.4m b/d this year as vaccines are rolled out and countries open up again.

In 2022, the IEA expects a further 3.1m b/d increase, to average 99.5m b/d with an increase at the end of the year that will surpass the level of demand before the coronavirus crisis took hold.

Still, the Paris-based body warned in its monthly oil market report that "the recovery will be uneven not only among regions but across sectors and products“.

Slow vaccine distribution, it said, could "jeopardise“ any rebound.

The aviation sector will be the slowest to recover as governments keep in place certain travel restrictions "until the pandemic is brought firmly under control“, the IEA added. Petrol demand could take longer to recover as work-from-home practices continue and the rising adoption of electric vehicles offsets increased mobility.

In turn, the agency reiterated that Opec and its allies need to "open the taps“ to boost oil production and keep the world well supplied. The so-called Opec+ group