BP: Natural gas will overtake coal to become the second largest energy source in the world in 2040

British Petroleum (BP PLC, BP) said on Thursday that most of the global energy supply growth in the next 20 years will come from renewable energy and natural gas, but large-scale investment in crude oil exploration and production is still needed to meet crude oil demand in 2040.









BP said in its annual energy outlook report that the main assumption in the future is that renewable energy and natural gas will account for 85% of global energy growth by 2040. Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and biofuels.





In the hypothetical situation reported, renewable energy will grow by 7.1% annually, and its share of major energy sources will increase from 4% to 15% by 2040. Natural gas is expected to grow by 1.7% annually, surpassing coal to become the world's second largest energy source in 2040, and will fight for the largest energy title with crude oil.









BP said in its report that all assumptions indicate that crude oil will still play a key role in the global energy system by 2040, when crude oil demand will range from 80 million barrels per day to 130 million barrels per day. Crude oil demand is currently projected at 99 million barrels per day in 2020.





In view of this, the company believes that it will need to invest trillions of dollars in the development of new oil fields to meet global crude oil demand by 2040.









Under the main assumptions, BP continues to expect that global demand for crude oil will climb around 2035, to nearly 110 million barrels per day, and then remain stable until 2040. Until 2018, BP expected that crude oil demand would not stop growing around 2040.























