IEA Says OPEC Will Remain Linchpin For Global Oil Supplies.

The IEA says in its World Energy Outlook released on Oct. 26 OPEC will supply over half of the world's oil needs by 2030, with a heavy reliance on Middle Eastern member countries. This assumes that conventional oil will retain its share of global energy production, whereas a report issued by APS Energy Group says alternative fuels and other sources of energy and industrial feedstocks could take over well before 2030 (see following page).

According to the IEA, demand will lift OPEC's share of world supplies to levels higher than those seen in the 1970s, when OPEC twice embargoed the sale of oil to the U.S. "OPEC countries, especially in the Middle East, will expand …