Global gas demand reached an all-time high in 2024. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Global gas demand reached a new all-time high in 2024, while oil demand growth slowed markedly, according to the IEA’s newly-released Global Energy Review 2025

Demand for all energy sources increased in 2024, as global energy demand rose by 2.2% last year, considerably faster than the average over the last decade, with surging electricity consumption being a major factor.

Emerging and developing economies accounted for over 80% of the increase in global energy demand in 2024, despite slower growth in China, with the advanced economies seeing a return to growth and a 1% increased in energy demand.

Renewables accounted for most of the growth in global energy supply (38%), followed by natural gas (28%), coal (15%), oil (11%) and nuclear (8%).

The report highlights the surge in global electricity consumption, which rose by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours, or 4.3%, nearly double the annual average over the past decade, driven by record global temperatures, rising consumption from industry, the electrification of transport, and the growth of data centres and artificial intelligence.

80% of the increase in global electricity generation in 2024 was met by renewable sources and nuclear, with renewables accounting for 32% of total generation, and new renewable power capacity installed worldwide rising to around 700 gigawatts. The supply of natural gas-fired generation also increased steadily in response to rising electricity demand.

Rising demand for gas

Global gas demand rose by 2.7% in 2024, or 115bn cubic metres (bcm), compared with an average of around 75 bcm annually over the past decade, with over three-quarters of growth coming from emerging market and developing economies. Higher demand was focused in fast-growing Asian markets, with growth of over 7% in China, and over 10% in India. Globally, demand growth was driven by higher industrial use, and by increased gas use in power generation (partly as a result of extreme weather).

Natural gas continued to displace oil and oil products in various sectors, supported by policies, regulations and market dynamics, for example In the Middle East, where gas is replacing oil in the power sector. In road transport, the rapid scaling up of natural gas-powered trucks in China – with record sales in 2024 – contributed to lower diesel demand there. The use of LNG as a bunkering fuel is also expected to increase amid more stringent emissions regulations for shipping.

The slowing growth in oil demand to 0.8%, compared to 1.9% in 2023, reflected the end of the post-pandemic mobility rebound, slower industrial growth and the increasing impact of electric vehicles, with one in five cars sold globally now being electric. However growth in demand for aviation fuel and petrochemicals is higher, with feedstock demand remaining strong. Oil’s share of total energy demand fell below 30% for the first time ever.

While global CO2 emissions rose 0.8% to 37.8bn tonnes, a key driver being record high temperatures, this figure would be considerably higher if it were not for the deployment of solar PV, wind, nuclear, electric cars and heat pumps, which mitigates 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, the equivalent of 7% of global emissions.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol said, “What is certain is that electricity use is growing rapidly, pulling overall energy demand along with it to such an extent that it is enough to reverse years of declining energy consumption in advanced economies. The result is that demand for all major fuels and energy technologies increased in 2024, with renewables covering the largest share of the growth, followed by natural gas. And the strong expansion of solar, wind, nuclear power and EVs is increasingly loosening the links between economic growth and emissions.”

The report is available at http://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025
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Hani Attia, general manager of KSA and Bahrain at John Crane. (Image source: John Crane)

John Crane, a global leader in technologies and services for the energy and process industries, has won three asset management contracts within the past year with major petrochemical companies in Saudi Arabia

These contracts reinforce the company’s presence in the Kingdom and its commitment to supporting industrial and energy growth, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. Additionally, they offer an opportunity to expand John Crane’s dry gas mechanical seals and wet mechanical seals offerings within major petrochemical companies' operations.

The first project consists of an asset criticality assessment to identify the impact of potential asset failures on critical site equipment; and the development of a comprehensive maintenance strategy, with failure analysis, and preventative and predictive maintenance technologies.

The second project involves establishing an asset registrar to manage and optimise assets; conducting an asset criticality assessment to identify the impact of potential asset failures on-site equipment; developing comprehensive maintenance strategies and preventive maintenance tasks; and optimising an existing plant to align it with a further plant under development, as part of expansion efforts.

The third project involves checking more than 400,000 critical assets across six customer sites in Saudi Arabia to ensure regulatory compliance with industry safety, environmental, and legal requirements. This aligns with the newly introduced Petroleum and Petrochemical Law, which regulates petroleum and petrochemical operations in a manner that contributes to economic growth. Goals include improving equipment efficiency, reducing risks, ensuring financial accuracy through precise asset valuation, and supporting asset lifecycle decisions.

Hani Attia, general manager of KSA and Bahrain at John Crane, said, “John Crane is committed to driving industrial and energy growth across Saudi Arabia and the wider region through our work and capabilities. Our asset management solutions will enhance our customer’s operational efficiency and reliability, ensuring long-term success. Our expertise in predictive maintenance and asset management is key to supporting their success. As more clients want to preserve and extend the lifecycle of their crucial plant equipment, we see substantial growth opportunities in the area.”

Dany Rahal, SLB’s vice president digital for the MENA region. (Image source: SLB)

In the first part of a two-part interview with Oil Review Middle East, Dany Rahal, SLB’s vice president digital for the MENA region, discusses the factors that are critical for successful digital transformation

Dany Rahal’s 24-year career at SLB has spanned various geographies, including the Middle East, with a focus on the digital and software space. Rahal was excited to return to the Middle East in 2022 as its vice president digital for the MENA region, based in Dubai, and is committed to accelerating AI adoption in the region.

Before sharing his insights on the transformative impact of AI and digital technologies in the oil and gas sector, AI adoption in the Middle East and the next evolution of AI, Rahal is keen to set the scene by sharing his thoughts on the essential ingredients for successful digital transformation.

Essential ingredients

“Everyone is talking about digital transformation, AI and all these emerging technologies. But there are several pillars that are ingredients for success, which are relevant not only for the oil and gas industry, but for other industries as well.

“The first is executive sponsorship. It is very important today that digital is a top priority for the leadership, not only in our industry but across all industries. Driving transformation top down, and having the organisation follow the lead of the CEO, is critical.

“The second ingredient for success is embracing modern technologies, and the first thing that comes to mind is data. Data is an asset that remains untapped, in our industry as well as others. This is particularly important, when it comes to deploying AI and GenAI on top of the data. In addition to effective data management, there are many digital technologies, such as Cloud, AI and ML, edge and IoT, that are critical for organisations to adopt in order to embrace digital transformation, but all need to work together as part of the infrastructure.

“The third ingredient is partnerships. The partner ecosystem around digital is very important because it provides the necessary breadth and depth of expertise, resources and collaborative opportunities to navigate the complexities of digital transformation initiatives. At SLB, partnership is at the heart of our strategy. We have partnerships with many of the technology providers, including not only the hyperscalers but also startups, which we can help get to scale and access a bigger market. Our partnership with Nvidia, for example, allows us to acquire expertise and software for our Gen AI capabilities, including domain foundational models. We also have partnerships in the region, such as with AIQ, an ADNOC joint venture. We are expanding our partner ecosystem and bringing it to the customer as well.

“The final pillar is human capital. We get so excited about the technology – but it is the people that make it happen, so upskilling and reskilling talent is important, and bringing new talent to digital literacy. When you upskill your talent with digital, you fast track the adoption of the new technology I mentioned, which means it is no longer a threat to jobs, but rather, it becomes a tool to bring value into the workflows and the organisation. The best results we see are when we equip experts in the domain with new digital tools and get them to work closely with experts in digital technology.”

Rahal highlights here SLB’s domain data scientist programme, designed to upskill its domain experts in the latest AI technologies, where subject matter experts, including petroleum engineers, geoscientists and reservoir engineers, are put through a six-month deep learning programme giving them hands-on experience in AI and data science. The company also runs a similar programme, the AI Academy, to upskill its customers (typically energy domain professionals) and university students in data science and digital technology. With their newly acquired skills, Academy graduates help their organisations adopt AI and machine learning (ML) to enhance workflows from exploration to production. This initiative has met with considerable success in the MENA region.

“These are the ingredients I see as necessary for digital transformation success,” Rahal concludes.

Watch out for Part 2 coming soon!

Amin H. Nasser, president and CEO of Aramco giving a keynote address at CERAWeek. (Image source: Aramco)

Middle East energy titans have called for a more realistic energy approach at CERAWeek 2025 in Houston

In a keynote address, Aramco president & CEO Amin H. Nasser highlighted the risks of current energy transition planning, and stressed the urgent requirement for a new global energy model.

“The greatest transition fiction was that conventional energy could be almost entirely replaced, virtually overnight… Hydrocarbons still provide over 80% of primary energy in the US, almost 90% in China, and even in the EU it is more than 70%… New sources add to the energy mix and complement existing sources. They do not replace them... New sources cannot even meet the growth in demand, while the proven sources needed to fill the gap are demonised and discarded. It is a fast track to dystopia, not utopia.”

Investment in all sources is needed, he said, with new and alternative energy sources complementing rather than replacing conventional energy, in a model that serves the needs of developed and developing nations alike.
“The future of energy is not only about sustainability. Security and affordability must share the stage. With all energy sources working in harmony as one team, delivering real results.”

Echoing this message, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC managing director and group CEO said that he was glad to address the event at a time when “energy realism is taking centre stage”, highlighting the UAE’s pragmatic approach which focuses on “market realities rather than unrealistic mandates”, and calling for “pragmatic actions and policies that are pro-growth, pro-investment, pro-energy and pro-people.”

“We need every energy option available. An ‘and-and’ approach to meet rapidly growing energy needs.

“We know that by 2035, there will be almost nine billion people on this planet. In line with this growth, oil demand will increase from 103 to at least 109 million bpd. LNG and chemicals will expand by over 40% and total electricity demand will surge from 9,000GW to 15,000GW, which is a staggering 70% increase. We will need more LNG, more low-carbon oil, more nuclear and more commercially-viable renewables to meet all this demand.”

AI energy requirements

This lesson has been thrown into sharp focus by the rise of AI and its energy requirements.

“Applications like ChatGPT use 10 times as much energy as a simple Google search and are growing exponentially," said Dr Al Jaber. "By 2030, in the US alone, data centre power demand is expected to triple, accounting for more than 10% of US electricity use.

“You cannot scale AI without access to energy. Simply put, the true cost of AI is not just in code, it’s in kilowatts. The race for AI supremacy is essentially an energy play.”

CERA Week also heard from IEA chief Dr Fatih Birol who, in an about turn from the IEA’s earlier position that there should be no new investment in oil gas and coal in order to meet climate targets, highlighted the need for new oil and gas investments to offset the decline in existing fields.

While bp CEO Murray Auchincloss expanded on the company’s strategic reset, which will see it boost oil and gas investment and cut investment in renewables in a bid to maximise returns and value for shareholders. The company plans to ramp up oil and gas investment to US$10 bn a year and grow production to 2.3–2.5mn bpd in 2030, targeting 10 new major projects to start up by end 2027, and a further 8–10 by end 2030.

The US and the Middle East will be core areas for growth, he said.

“We’re back to our roots in terms of exploration, expanding in the UAE, Iraq, Libya and Oman.”