A statistics report on world energy consumption published by BP on Wednesday said that global oil consumption in 2004 hit a record high since 1976, with oil consumption increasing nearly 2.5 million barrels per day.

The growth was twice the annual average increase rate over the past decade, said the report.

It said that oil consumption in all regions exceeded the average level in the past 10 years due to the rapid development of global economy.

Meanwhile, global oil output for the first time surpassed 80 million bpd, and that of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased by 2.2 million bpd to reach 32.9 million bpd.

The oil production of Saudi Arabia reached 10.6 million bpd last year, a record high, while that of Britain and the United States, dropped 230,000 bpd and 160,000 bdp respectively.

The report also revealed that world natural gas consumption rose 3.3 percent last year, compared with the annual average growth rate of 2.3 percent in the past 10 years, with Russia, China and the Middle East reporting the fastest growth in natural gas consumption.

According to the report, world coal consumption reported a 6.3 percent rise in 2004. In Asia, the growth rate stood at 7.4 percent.

World nuclear power consumption surged 4.4 percent, while hydropower consumption rose 5 percent last year. China's hydropower production grew 16.6 percent.

Source: Xinhua