Energy Transformation Predicted in 12 Years

By 2030, the world's consumption of oil will drop due to increasing electric vehicle sales, according to a report by Bank of America. Other researchers disagree on the timeframe. The report is useful for highlighting the term, "peak oil demand."

2 minute read

January 26, 2018, 11:00 AM PST

By Irvin Dawid


Electric Car Charging

Frank Gaertner / Shutterstock

Forty percent of global light duty vehicle sales will be electric vehicles by 2030, causing "global oil demand to peak by 2030,” according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysis emailed to Bloomberg News.

"Despite strong global oil consumption helping to push crude prices higher, the rise of electric vehicles [EVs] is seen as one of the biggest long-term threats to demand," reports Alex Longley on the B of A analysis on Jan. 22. This graph tracking projected EV sales and global oil demand forecast shows the latter peaking around 2030.

Most oil companies see demand peaking around 2040, while Royal Dutch Shell Plc has said it expects to see demand peak in the early 2030s. 

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie said late last year that it expects oil demand growth to crawl, but not peak, by 2035, forcing major energy companies to shift from oil to natural gas and chemicals.

"About 60 percent of oil is used in transportation, which is also where the biggest technological changes are emerging," report Jess Shankleman and Hayley Warren for Bloomberg Businessweek on Dec. 21, 2017. They delve deeper into the different "peak oil demand" forecasts and also look back at the old, now discredited predictions of peak oil supply.

Wall Street Journal reporters Lynn Cook and Elena Cherney reported on "peak oil demand" on May 21, 2017. 

There's a growing consensus that the end of ever-rising consumption is in sight. The big question that many oil companies are debating: When?

A related post last July on an analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance focused on the outlook for electric vehicles predicts that EVs will outsell passenger vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2040 due to a plunge in battery prices and improvement in battery technology. The posts indicates that oil companies do not see EVs as that big a threat. That reaction may be changing now.

Hat tip to Nan Hildreth.

Monday, January 22, 2018 in Bloomberg News

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A group of officials stand in a patch of dirt holding golden shovels and white hardhats.

California city breaks ground on transit connector

The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.

5 hours ago - Mass Transit

People walking by a brick school in Cambridge.

After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker

Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.

6 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

A rendering of the park, with green grass and a bass sculpture that looks like several tall arches in a row.

40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park

The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.

7 hours ago - Block Club Chicago