OREANDA-NEWS.   In Saudi Arabia, oil demand in January 2014 was again strong, with increasing crude burning volumes intended for electricity generation slightly offset by modest declines in LPG, fuel oil and gasoline requirements.

Oil demand grew in Iraq during December 2013, with direct crude burning for electricity generation, jet/kerosene and gas/diesel oil taking the bulk of the gains that were partly offset by declining demand in gasoline and LPG.

Latest Qatari and Kuwaiti data for January show oil demand slightly increasing y-o-y. Kuwait fuel oil and Qatar LPG are the products accounting for the greatest part of these increases. The outlooks for 2014 Middle East oil demand remain stable since last month’s projections, with the risks being equally distributed both to the upside and the downside. For 2013, Middle East oil demand grew by 0.28 mb/d, while it is projected to increase by 0.31 mb/d in 2014.