OFF THE CHARTS Oil supply rising, but demand may more than keep
pace Published: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 4:36 p.m. Last
Modified: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 4:36 p.m. It used to be
taken for granted that as economies grew, they would use more
oil. That was a major reason cited in warnings that the world
would run out of oil, particularly if standards of living rose
in developing countries. Well, standards of living are improving
in developing countries, but the dire forecasts now appear to be
wrong. In part that is because new discoveries and improving
technologies have increased the amount of oil that can be
produced. It also reflects conservation, in part, as cars become
more efficient and as other steps are taken to reduce oil use.
The International Energy Agency, in its 2012 World Energy
Outlook, released last week, forecast that U.S. oil production,
which began to rise in 2009 after decades of decline, would
continue rising through at least 2020, when it could be about as
high as it was in 1970