Factbox: Pandemic brings forward predictions for peak oil demand 20 hours ago 20 hours ago Source: Reuters The rise of electric vehicles and a shift to renewable energy sources were already prompting downward revisions in forecasts for long-term oil demand. While there is no consensus on when oil demand could peak, the revised predictions mark a boon to the fight against climate change and could weigh on oil companies’ plans to explore for and develop new resources. BP – Could be as early as 2019 BP forecasts COVID-19 will knock around 3 million barrels per day (bpd) off by 2025 and 2 million bpd by 2050 in its central scenario.