Azerbaijan, Baku, October 16/Trend, E.Aliyev/
According to a prognosis of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the demand for energy carriers in Azerbaijan will increase by 76.27 per cent to 20.8 million tons in oil equivalent.
By comparison and according to the bank's assessments, this figure was equal to 11.8 million tons in 2010, ADB's Asian Energy Outlook report published on Monday said.
'In an alternative scenario, demand for energy resources in the country will increase to 18.9 million tons in oil equivalent by 2035', the report said.
The alternative forecast of the ADB is calculated on the assumption that all other things being equal, market participants including end users use high technology and the country's government plans to use new and renewable energy sources as well as nuclear power plants.
'Azerbaijan will continue to remain an energy self-sufficient state relying on vast reserves of oil and gas. The country can also greatly benefit from the implementation of increasing the energy efficiency for the further development of energy security', the document said.
The development of the policy, measures and programmes in the sphere of energy efficiency both from demand and supply will eventually benefit Azerbaijan's socio-economic development, according to the DB experts.
The ADB was established in 1966 and has 67 members. Its headquarters is located in the capital of the Philippines, Manila. Azerbaijan became a member of the Asian Development Bank on December 22, 1999. The country's participating share in the bank's capital is 0.5 per cent.
ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the U.S. (31.2 per cent of the total share capital), India and China (12.8 per cent for each), and Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 per cent).