Vitol expects oil demand to slow within 15 years

London — Vitol cemented its position as the world's largest oil trader in 2018 and said it saw oil demand rising for at least for another 15 years before slowing amid global attempts to expand green energy. The firm, run out of London, said its traded crude and products volumes rose to 7.4-million barrels a day (bpd) in 2018. In 2017, it said its volumes were 7.2-million bpd. Total oil volume was 357-million tonnes, up slightly from 349-million tonnes the previous year, it said in a statement. Crude continued to represent the bulk of those volumes, rising to 3.8-million bpd from 3.6-million in 2017. On the products side, petrol volume rebounded by 30% to 440-million tonnes while fuel oil and naphtha declined. Its traded liquefied natural gas volume rose to 7.8-million tonnes in 2018, up from 7.4-million tonnes. Turnover increased on the back of rising oil prices to $231bn in 2018, up from $181bn in 2017. Vitol did not disclose its net profit. The Financial Times reports that the fir...