“On the demand side, the fall in oil prices stimulated strong growth: oil demand grew by almost twice its 10-year average.”
BP has launched its 65th Statistical Review of World Energy. Are you looking for the headlines from the energy world in 2015? We speak to BP’s chief economist, Spencer Dale, who pinpoints the six charts that reveal the ups and downs of global energy demand, supply and consumption last year. And, if you have a particular interest in the US, check out our in-depth report – also available now.
Slow global energy demand growth for second year
“The highlight from last year’s data is the fact that the global demand for energy grew relatively slowly, by only 1%. That’s similar to the growth rate seen in 2014, but far slower than the growth rate seen over the last ten years.”
Primary numbers: percentage change in global primary energy consumption since 2000
Oil demand up in response to lower prices
“Oil prices fell sharply in 2015 and we could see the oil market responding to that. On the demand side, this fall in prices stimulated strong growth: oil demand grew by around 1.9 million barrels a day last year – that’s almost twice its 10-year average.”
Rise and fall: percentage change in Brent oil prices year-on-year since 1985
Weakest growth in carbon emissions in 25 years
“The slow growth in energy demand, together with the shift in the fuel mix away from coal towards cleaner, lower carbon fuels, means that growth in carbon emissions essentially stalled in 2015. That’s the slowest growth rate we’ve seen for more than 25 years, other than in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis.”
Slow down: annual percentage change in carbon dioxide emissions from energy use and (right) total CO2 emissions since 1990
Record surge in renewables
“The fastest-growing source of energy last year was renewable energy used in the power sector, increasing by more than 15% and led by strong growth in wind and solar.
This continued the story that we’ve been seeing for several years now – fast falls in the cost of wind and solar power driving strong demand growth.”
The story so far: wind power
Natural gas bounces back from 2014
“Natural gas bounced back last year from the weak growth rates we saw in 2014 related to the mild winter that year. Much of the action was happening in the US: on the supply side, it remained the powerhouse for global gas production, all of that coming from continuing strong growth in shale gas.
“And, on the demand side, that strong growth in US shale gas pushed down gas prices in the US, allowing gas to gain significant shares from coal within the country’s power sector.”
Return to form: percentage change in global natural gas consumption year-on-year since 2005
Coal records its largest decline on record
“Coal consumption fell sharply in 2015, recording its largest decline on record. That reflected factors on both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, strong growth in US shale gas crowded out coal within the power sector, leading to big falls in coal consumption there.
On the demand side, the main driver was China. A shift in the structure of the Chinese economy away from the industrial sectors, that tend to be very coal-intensive, caused its coal consumption to fall for the second consecutive year.”
Weak spots: the years of global coal consumption decline since 1985
Source: BP Magazine
