Report: Crude price hit record in 2011

World oil prices reached a record high in 2011 despite normal demand growth and an increase in crude supplies from Saudi Arabia, according to BP’s annual world energy report, released today. As The Houston Chronicle reports, revolutions and political unrest in Libya and some oil-rich Arabian countries contributed to a 40% increase in the average annual world Brent price of crude. The price rose to $111.26 per barrel, exceeding $100 per barrel for the first time in history, according the report. That info also comes from BP’s 61st Statistical Review of World Energy, an analysis of the global dynamics impacting energy supplies and demand during 2011. Global oil consumption grew by just 0.7%, and economic troubles in Europe and the United States led to a 0.8% drop in energy demand in developed countries in 2011. Renewable power generation grew by 17.7%, with wind dominating the expansion. Meanwhile, federal officials predict fewer oil disruptions during this year’s hurricane season compared to 2011. Hurricanes threatening the U.S. Gulf of Mexico will disrupt production by about 4.5 million barrels of crude oil and 9.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas this season, according to median government estimates. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts a 40% chance that storm-related disruptions of offshore oil and gas production will be worse than last year. During the busy 2011 hurricane season, 5.5 million barrels of crude oil and 14.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas were shut in. Read more about the forecast here.