The World Energy Outlook series is a leading source of strategic insight on the future of energy and energy-related emissions, providing detailed scenarios that map out the consequences of different energy policy and investment choices. This year's edition updates the outlooks for all fuels, technologies and regions, based on the latest market data, policy initiatives and cost trends. In addition, the 2019 report tackles some key questions in depth: (i) What do the shale revolution, the rise of liquefied natural gas, the falling costs of renewables and the spread of digital technologies mean for tomorrow's energy supply?; (ii) How can the world get on a pathway to meet global climate targets and other sustainable energy goals?; (iii) What are the energy choices that will shape Africa's future, and how might the rise of the African consumer affect global trends?; (iv) How large a role could offshore wind play in the transformation of the energy sector?; (v) Could the world's gas grids one day deliver low-carbon energy?

This paper presents a simple macroeconomic model of the oil market. The model incorporates features of oil supply such as depletion, endogenous oil exploration and extraction, as well as features of oil demand such as the secular increase in demand from emerging-market economies, usage efficiency, and endogenous demand responses. The model provides, inter alia, a useful analytical framework to explore the effects of: a change in world GDP growth; a change in the efficiency of oil usage; and a change in the supply of oil. Notwithstanding that shale oil production today is more responsive to prices than conventional oil, our analysis suggests that an era of prolonged low oil prices is likely to be followed by a period where oil prices overshoot their long-term upward trend.

The sharp drop in oil prices is one of the most important global economic developments over the past year. The SDN finds that (i) supply factors have played a somewhat larger role than demand factors in driving the oil price drop, (ii) a substantial part of the price decline is expected to persist into the medium term, although there is large uncertainty, (iii) lower oil prices will support global growth, (iv) the sharp oil price drop could still trigger financial strains, and (v) policy responses should depend on the terms-of-trade impact, fiscal and external vulnerabilities, and domestic cyclical position.

"World Energy Outlook 2008 draws on the experience of another turbulent year in energy markets to provide new energy projections to 2030, region by region and fuel by fuel, incorporating the latest data and policies. "

This outlook highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, policies for transition and specific regional challenges. It also explores options to eventually cut emissions to zero.