Oil Market

According to oil statistics, the global production in the oil market touched 76,777 thousand barrels per day (tbpd) in 2003. Major oil producers include North America, Middle East, Europe (UK, parts of the Russian Federation and the Rest of Europe) and Eurasia (includes parts of the Russian Federation and former Soviet Union states such as Armenia and the Ukraine, but excludes India, China and Japan). Major consumers are North America, Europe and Eurasia Asia Pacific— where China, Japan, India and South Korea dominate consumption in the oil market.

Global production of natural gas totaled 2619 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2003. Major producers include Europe, Eurasia, and North America. Together, they account for 69 percent of the world production. Major consumers are North America, Europe and Eurasia.

North American oil market

North America comprises the US, the largest economy of the region, Canada, Mexico, Greenland and small islands such as Bermuda. It has the fifth largest proved oil reserves in the world and as a region, it is also the largest producer and consumer of oil in the world.

North America has been staging a steady economic recovery since 2002. Its GDP grew 2.25 percent in 2002 and at a marginally-higher rate of 2.96 percent in 2003. The sluggishness in the Canadian economy was a major drawback on the growth of regional GDP in 2003.

European and Eurasian oil market

Europe comprises parts of the Russian Federation, the UK and the Rest of Europe while Eurasia includes former Soviet Union states such as the Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, etc and parts of Russia, but excludes Japan, India and, China.

Europe and Eurasia play a key role in the global oil and gas industry. They have the second-largest proved oil and gas reserves in the world. Europe and Eurasia is also the largest producer and consumer of natural gas.

Key regions in Europe and Eurasia include the European Union (EU) and Russia. The EU includes 15 member states and the enlargement in 2004 has not been taken into account. The EU, excluding the UK and Russia, with a share of 84 percent, is the biggest contributor towards regional economic growth followed by the UK and Russia. Since 2000, Europe and Eurasia’s GDP has witnessed a downward trend. The reason behind this trend has been the poor performance of some of the EU member states. The low growth rate of GDP has affected demand for energy in the region and oil and gas demand has not been able to match the growth of regional GDP. Regional GDP grew by 8.31 percent during the five-year period 1999–2003 while oil and gas demand increased by 0.02 percent and 2.48 percent respectively.

Japanese oil market

Japan is the third-largest energy consumer in the world. It is also the third- largest energy importer after the US and China. Over the past decade, Japan’s economic growth has been sluggish, leading to consolidation in the downstream energy sector.

Japan has negligible oil and gas reserves which means they rely heavily on imports. In 2003, Japan imported 213.2 million tones of crude oil. However, Japan remains an important force in the world energy sector owing to its technological strengths. It is one of the major exporters of energy-sector capital equipment. Japan is also known for its engineering, construction, and project management services.

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