IEA executive director Fatih Biron does not believe that lifestyle changes such as teleworking would cause demand for oil to decline substantially. PARIS: Although crude prices have rebounded from coronavirus crisis lows, oil execs and experts are starting to ask if the industry has crossed the Rubicon of peak demand.
The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing then with most planes grounded and white-collar workers giving up the commute to work from home.SUMMITED?Mostly, it has been focused on peak production, with experts forecasting that prices would reach astronomical levels as recoverable oil in the ground runs out.
"If they are successful, demand for oil might never return to the peak we saw prior to COVID-19," he said in comments to journalists."After the pandemic, we might have a different attitude to international air travel or physically going into work," he said.Other experts say we haven't reached the tipping point yet, and might not for a while.
Moez Ajmi at consulting and auditing firm E&Y dismissed as"science fiction" the idea that a definitive drop in oil demand could suddenly emerge.That weakness would also likely slow adoption of greener fuels.