BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 20. Global oil demand increased by 1.3 mb/d in December, which is a new record high, Trend reports via the International Energy Forum.
According to the new data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), the demand growth was mainly driven by profits in Japan, Indonesia and Korea.
Moreover, world crude oil production declined by 274,000 b/d in December to a 5-month low, supported by losses in the US and the UK.
As JODI noted, world demand in December was 102 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels, while crude oil production was 96 percent of the pre-pandemic levels.
While markets tightened compared to November, world crude oil and oil product inventories rose by 5.46 million barrels, reflecting seasonal fluctuations. At the same time, the inventories remained 354 million barrels below the five-year average.
Meanwhile, world natural gas demand climbed by 30.96 bcm in December. However, gas production dropped by 0.18 bcm month-on-month.
"EU+UK natural gas inventories declined by 9.5 bcm in December, less than the seasonal average draw of 11.5 bcm. Inventories stood at 85 percent full at the end of the month," the report added.
At the same time, the total gas inventories decreased by 27.6 bcm month-on-month in line with the seasonal average draw.