Has the Covid-19 crisis signalled the end game for oil?

OPEC prepares for an age of dwindling demand as the pandemic fallout changes consumer habits for good, leading to permanent demand destruction, Alex Lawler reports

Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. Earlier this month UAE announced a shakeup of government to tackle challenges as coronavirus and lower oil prices erode sluggish economic growth. Photo: AP

Tue, 28 Jul, 2020 - 17:02

Opec is preparing for an age of dwindling demand as the coronavirus pandemic fallout changes consumer habits for good, reports Alex Lawler

The coronavirus crisis may have triggered the long-anticipated tipping point in oil demand and it is focusing minds in OPEC.

The pandemic drove down daily crude consumption by as much as a third earlier this year, at a time when the rise of electric vehicles and a shift to renewable energy sources were already prompting downward revisions in forecasts for long-term oil demand.