According to Reuters article published on March 7, 2023, U.S. crude production and demand will rise in 2023 as Chinese travel drives consumption, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday.
The EIA projected that crude production will rise by 590,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 12.44 bpd in 2023 and by another 190,000 bpd to 12.63 million bpd next year.
The EIA also projected petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption would rise by 100,000 bpd to 20.4 million bpd in 2023.
China is expected to be the main driver of global growth in 2023 as its shift from its zero-COVID policy increases travel, the EIA said.
A projected 1.4% increase in global gross domestic product in 2024 should to boost oil demand by 400,000 bpd next year to 20.8 million bpd, according to the agency.
Despite its forecast that Russian oil production in March will decline by more than the cuts the nation announced, the EIA revised up forecasts of Russian oil production up by 400,000 bpd as its recent petroleum exports outpace expectations.
The EIA also raised its forecast for U.S. gasoline consumption in 2023 and 2024 by about 2% from last month’s outlook.
The agency estimates vehicle miles traveled fell in 2022 compared with 2021 and, it reduced its estimate of vehicle fuel efficiency in the period.
