China’s rapid electrification is catching out oil producers

Green drive: Motorists top up at a China Petroleum and Chemical Corp petrol gas station in Shanghai. China, the world’s biggest oil importer, is leading the drive to EVs with a 50% market share in new sales already achieved. — Bloomberg

OVER-ESTIMATING China’s appetite for crude has been a factor in oil markets this year, especially by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), and it’s a theme that looks likely to continue in the coming years.

The increasing shift to electricity in transport from fossil fuels and what it termed “electric mobility” is “wrong-footing oil producers,” according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest “World Energy Outlook” released on Wednesday.