Oil and Petrochemicals

Growth of Primary Energy Consumption. Despite enormous advances in energy efficiency since the first oil shock of 1973, world consumption of primary energy continued to rise remorselessly. Between 1972 and 1997, total world primary energy consumption rose by 63 per cent (BP, 1998). Over the decade 1987–97, the growth rate slowed considerably, with an expansion of almost 16 per cent (Table 7-1). However, this slowdown was mainly due to the huge decline in the former Soviet Union, in which a 34 per cent fall in primary energy consumption took place over the decade (BP, 1998). Within Western Europe, significant increases in primary energy consumption took place, with increases of 19.6 per cent in France, 12.0 per cent in Italy, and 8.2 per cent in the UK (BP, 1998). In the USA, consumption rose by 18.6 per cent over the decade, with the USA’s share of the world total rising from 24.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent. The biggest advance came in the Asia Pacific region, which experienced a growth of 59 per cent over the decade, its share rising from 20.3 per cent in 1987 to 27.9 per cent in 1997. Table 7-1 World Primary Energy Consumption, 1987 and 1997 (million tons of oil equivalent) (% in brackets) Table 7-2 World Primary Energy Consumption, by Energy Source, 1987 and 1997