Reality bites for global climate ambitions
Real-world trends for rising oil use in the developing world cast increasing doubt on lofty emissions goals
The IEA published a five-year oil market outlook in mid-June. This is always a brave exercise, and it is even more so in the post-pandemic world and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In Oil 2023: Analysis and Forecast to 2028, the agency has planted its flag firmly in the peak oil demand camp and rebutted a theme published in many previous editions that pointed out the dangers of insufficient investment in the upstream oil industry. As far as the peak oil argument is concerned, the IEA continues to show growth in demand from 99.8m b/d in 2022 to 105.7m b/d in 2028 (the limit of the forecast), with the editor of the report saying the agency is “pretty confident” of a definitive peak by
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
6 March 2026
After Europe’s rapid buildout of floating LNG import capacity, Exmar CEO Carl-Antoine Saverys says future growth in floating gas infrastructure will increasingly be driven by developing markets as lower prices, rising energy demand and the need to replace coal unlock new opportunities for unconventional and tailor-made solutions






