Domestic petroleum products demand growth is unsustainable at current levels, undersecretary to Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas (MOG) Salim al-Oufi has said, warning that a continuation of current demand trends could see the country consuming virtually all of its domestic oil output by 2030.
Consumption of gasoline, diesel, LPG, naphtha and jet fuel is currently growing by up to 15% annually, the undersecretary said, a rate that needs to be curbed through a combination of better education, targeted subsidies and a change in the population’s energy consumption habits. “Fuel consumption has been increasing by about 10-15% every year,” the undersecretary said at the Oman Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition and Conference in Muscat last week. “And if you only do the math, [it shows that] we will need a new refinery every five years to meet demand growth.” (CONTINUED - 800 WORDS)
