IEA sounds alarm on oil supply crunch in five years
London - World oil demand would rise faster than expected to 2012 while production lagged, leading to a supply crunch, the International Energy Agency (IAE) has said.
In its medium-term oil market report, published yesterday, the adviser to 26 industrialised countries said demand would rise by about 2.2 percent a year up to 2012 - a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous forecast.
The outlook, which updates an IEA forecast issued in February, coincided yesterday with London Brent crude prices jumping by 65c to $76.17 a barrel (R3.33 a litre), within sight of the record high of $78.65 hit last August, on concerns of a tightening market.
"Despite four years of high oil prices, this report sees increasing market tightness beyond 2010," said the IEA. "It is possible that the supply crunch could be deferred - but not by much."
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