2006 World Oil Demand to Rise 2.2 Percent

World demand for crude oil will grow 2.2 percent this year, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

The IEA, the energy watchdog of the industrialized world, also said crude oil demand rose 1.3 percent last year.

Spare capacity in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries remains tight but installed capacity will rise by 1 million barrels per day in 2006. The IEA revised its estimate of demand for OPEC oil for 2006 by 100,000 barrels per day to 28.6 million barrels per day. That’s a 200,000 barrel per day increase over last year’s level.

On a volume basis, last year’s crude oil demand is gauged at 83.30 million barrels per day, said the IEA, which was formed in response to the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s.