Global oil demand to disappoint

Peak requirements may be here much quicker than in some forecasts

Oil consumption is expected to continue to grow through 2040, albeit at an increasingly gradual pace, according to base case scenarios from major oil forecasting organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA). But there are reasons to conclude oil demand will peak sooner rather than later, and the decline may be surprisingly precipitous thereafter.  Slower than expected economic growth because of US-China tensions; greater concern about oil security given this new superpower rivalry, as well as the vulnerability of key oil infrastructure in an unstable Mid-East Gulf; more powerful environmental movements targeting climate change, local air pollution and oil-based plastics; and t