Bunker Demand Has Seen Only "Marginal" Growth Since 2008

OPEC says bunker demand growth had been curbed by bunker reduction efforts

After seeing steady growth since 1990, bunker demand has slowed in recent years as operators have sought to save costs by reducing fuel consumption, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC) has observed.

"Since 2008 demand has grown only marginally as a result of the global economic situation and the higher oil prices in the period to 2014," OPEC wrote in its recently released World Oil outlook 2015.

"Demand in developing countries surpassed that of the OECD in 2009 and in 2013 totalled 2.2 [million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d)], 0.4 mboe/d higher than in the OECD. Eurasia accounted for 0.2 mboe/d in 2013."

The slowing growth rate was attributed to efficiency gains made, for example, in ship design, with slow steaming practices also said to have played an important role in recent years.

"While international seaborne traffic increased (in terms of tonne-miles) by 21% between 2008 and 2013, sectoral oil demand only increased 2.6%," said OPEC.

"As a result of the higher oil prices in this period, carriers started using slow steaming as one of their key cost reduction tools."

OPEC also noted that, according to an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) study, the practice of slow steaming surged between 2007 and 2012, resulting in a 27 percent reduction in marine fuel consumption versus what it otherwise would have been.

Overall, bunker demand has grown from a total of 2.3 mboe/d in 1990 to 4.1 mboe/d in 2013, says OPEC.

Looking ahead, OPEC says demand in developing countries will grow by 90 percent through 2040.