Brasília – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has maintained the estimate of global crude oil consumption in 2013, supplied mostly by China and the Middle East, according to the monthly Opec report released this Tuesday (12th).
The organization, which produces approximately 35% of petroleum worldwide, believes demand in 2013 will average at 89.67 million barrels per day – an estimate that remained virtually unchanged from the forecast made a month ago.
“The large portion of this growth is seen coming from China, followed by the Middle East, Other Asia, and Latin America,” according to the organization.
Demand will keep decreasing in the wealthy countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), though at a lesser rate than in 2012.
The Opec stresses that the estimate is based on a series of hazards, including the European scenario: “The euro’s instability could lead to even deeper recession in some Mediterranean countries.”
Another risk pointed by the organization is a change in Japan’s energy policy. The country may reopen nuclear reactors that had been shut down since the Fukushima Nuclear Plant accident two years ago.
The 12 Opec member countries are Angola, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Venezuela, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
