Africa’s oil demand soars by 5 pct

AFRICA has become the world’s leading oil consumer, as demand for the resource surged by 5 percent in the past year, it emerged on Monday.Africa’s oil consumption increased at a time when global demand for oil only gained 1 percent, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovations’ President for the Energy Sector, Steve Harley said.

“This (demand for oil in Africa) is likely to continue as many of the fastest growing economies are situated on the continent.”

According to Harley, projections show that supply is going to continue on the upward trajectory on the continent for another 25 years.

“Predicted ranges of growth over the period (will be) between 0.5 million and 2.0 million barrels per day,” Harley said.

He added, however, that the African region needed to get accustomed to new trends in the sector and the increasing demand for oil.

“Extraction from unconventional sources is more complex and relatively more expensive from a supply chain perspective. As such, customers will need complementary expertise from integrated logistics suppliers to meet the challenges of these new geographies and technologies,” he said.

In Africa, Nigeria and Angola top the list of oil producers. However, recent oil discoveries in the East Africa has tipped the region for massive growth as investment continues to pour in.