Demand for oil to peak in next 20 years, BP says

The world's appetite for oil and other liquid fuels could continue growing until around 2035, before plateauing and falling off in the run-up to 2040, UK energy major BP said in its annual outlook.

According to the report, consumption currently stands at around 100 million barrels per day (bpd) and that number will grow by another 10 percent before leveling off. The company earlier said crude demand wouldn't stop growing until the 2040s.

All of the growth in energy consumption will come from fast-growing developing economies. China and India will account for half of that growth.

BP expects renewable energy to be the fastest-growing fuel source.

“By 2040, oil, gas, coal and non-fossil fuels each account for around a quarter of the world's energy. More than 40 percent of the overall increase in energy demand is met by renewable energy,” said BP's group chief economist, Spencer Dale.

According to the company’s CEO, Bob Dudley, the outlook shows that “the world is going to need all forms of energy.”

“Gas has to be part of the transition, if not a destination fuel” for lowering carbon emissions, he said.

BP projects carbon emissions to rise 10 percent over the next 12 years. The company has increased its projection in the number of electric cars by 2035, from 100 million in last year’s outlook to 180 million. BP also forecasts that 320 million of the world’s 2 billion cars in 2040 will be electric.

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