AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, July 28 (UPI) -- Oil demand and global energy prices shouldn't rebound much as the economy crawls out of recession, Greenpeace says.
A report by Greenpeace, the environmental conservation group, based on forecasts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency, says the notion that oil demand and global prices may recover along with the world economy is optimistic at best.
OPEC has lowered its 2025 forecast by 12 percent in recent years, while the IEA has revised its projections consistently downward since 2006.
Greenpeace argues that improvements in energy efficiency, advances in alternative energy and the advent of so-called green technology is contributing to the overall suppression of oil fundamentals.
This, the report says, would make the push toward tar sands and other non-conventional oil reserves questionable.
Meanwhile, trends in global oil prices show recovery may be modest, reaching a "recession threshold" of around $80 per barrel, up modestly from the current price of around $68 but nowhere near the $147 mark reached in July 2008.
The International Monetary Fund warned that oil prices could surge as the recession drags on investment strategies in the energy sector, London's Guardian newspaper reports.
But while Greenpeace doesn't discount temporary volatility, long-term trends may upset conventional wisdom in the energy sector, the group said.
