Global Energy, 2014: An Inconvenient Truth -- Oil Demand In The US Grew At The Fastest Pace In The World In 2013 -- Outstripping China For The First Time Since 1999 -- Think About The Implications

I posted this earlier as part of another post but this is so important, I posted it separately, and gave it the appropriate tags. In addition, it will be linked at the sidebar at the right, not quite sure where, but it will be one of the "Big Stories."

Reuters over at Rizone is reporting:

Oil demand in the United States grew at the fastest pace in the world in 2013, outstripping China for the first time since 1999 as the globe's top economy reaped the benefits of a shale boom, oil company BP said on Monday.

In its annual review of energy statistics unveiled in Moscow, BP also raised its global oil reserves estimate by 1.1 percent after revising U.S. reserves upwards by more than a quarter.

Global natural gas reserves were cut for a second year as lower provisions for Russia and Qatar offset a significant uptick in U.S. estimates.

BP also said the United States recorded its largest-ever annual rise in oil production for a second year in a row with a 13.5 percent increase to above 10 million barrels per day (bopd).

The annual review, first published in 1951 and considered an industry benchmark, showed U.S. oil consumption in 2013 grew by 400,000 bpd to 18.9 million bpd, the sharpest gain in the world, followed by China's rise of 390,000 bpd to 10.8 million bpd.

The consumption growth was led by an expansion of the U.S. industrial sector as the world's top economy emerged from the 2008 financial crisis, BP Chief Economist Christof Ruhl said. 

The linked article goes on for three internet pages.

There are so many story lines here. But let's just go down one story line: if oil demand surges like this, one would assume the price of oil (and natural gas) would also increase (sort of "Economics 101, Supply and Demand").  If oil and natural gas got more expensive last year, and if Germany is shutting down their nuclear program (as Japan did), what do you think is the likely outcome? That brings us to the story.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting:

Coal dominated world energy markets last year by supplying the biggest share of demand since 1970, making it the fastest growing fossil fuel, according to an annual review by BP.

Consumption grew 3 percent last year, driven by coal use in developing nations, according to a statement Monday from Europe's third-largest oil company. Use of renewables such as solar and wind also reached a record, accounting for 2.7 percent of all energy demand.

The findings are another indication that consumers are prioritizing cheap fuels over efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, and use of it expanded at utilities from China to Germany.

"Europe is increasing its carbon emissions because it's using too much coal because it's cheap," Royal Dutch Shell's Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said in an interview on Bloomberg Television June 3.

Coal's share of global energy use reached 30.1 percent, just below the 32.9 percent share for crude oil, which lost market share for a 14th consecutive year. China was the world's biggest coal consumer, followed by the U.S. and India.

In China, coal accounted for 67.5 percent of the total energy demand, the lowest on record because of new measures to combat pollution. Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels use grew by 4.2 percent, or 358 metric tons, the slowest in five years, the report showed.

And the article goes on and on.