IEA: Regional oil demand could grow by 5%

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that oil demand in the Middle East could grow by nearly 5% in 2010, outpacing a modest recovery in global energy demand, Reuters has reported. The estimate is twice the forecast of the Paris-based agency's global oil demand growth of 1.8% for this year, the first growth year in three years after the recession cut fuel use. Opec's top two producers Saudi Arabia and Iran would drive more than half the Middle East's oil demand growth, the IEA said.