Asia creates a demand monster.(2005 )

Publication: Oil and Gas Investor

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Hart Publications, Inc.

The Far East's thirst for oil and gas already has pushed oil prices and tanker prices higher, and the region is making a heavy demand on new gas supplies coming onto the market.

"Asian oil demand will drive the market for the foreseeable future," said Mikkal Herberg, director of Asian Energy Security Programs at the National Bureau of Asian Research, during his talk at the IPAA Midyear meeting in San Francisco.

Asia already provided two-thirds of global oil demand growth for the past 15 years, and, thanks largely to China and India, it is the fastest-growing segment of the world. Of the 16 million b/d of growth, 10 million b/d came from Asia.

China already is the world's second largest importer of oil, and in the future, 80% of Asia's oil will come from other parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, he said.

In that future, little demand growth should come from North America, Europe, Japan or South Korea, while the rest of Asia will account for half of global growth.

In one way, that's good for producers, because high demand drives higher prices. One the other hand, Chinese and Indian companies are scouting the world for new supplies, and by...

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