Every investor looking at the energy transition is asking the same question: How quickly will oil demand decline? Vitol the global energy and commodities company, is the latest organisation to add their expertise to the debate in their recently released "Long-Term Oil Demand Outlook" report. Their perspective? While electrification and alternative fuels are advancing, reducing oil dependence is proving far more complex than headlines suggest.

Despite widespread efforts to decarbonize, global oil consumption isn’t set to plummet overnight. Instead, Vitol forecasts that demand will remain close to today’s levels, hovering around 105 million barrels per day (bpd) by 20401. However, what’s inside that barrel is shifting. The decline of gasoline and diesel in passenger transport is being offset by heavy industries that still depend on liquid fuels.

For Sulnox, this represents an enormous opportunity to make those fuels work better and burn cleaner.

The Changing Face of Oil Demand

The energy transition is well underway, and Sulnox is playing a critical role in making today’s fuels cleaner and more efficient. While electrification and alternative fuels are advancing, many industries still rely on combustion engines to keep the world moving. The challenge isn’t just about reducing emissions, it’s about doing so while ensuring industries can still operate efficiently and affordably.

For decades, road transport fuels like gasoline and diesel have dominated oil consumption. The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) is helping to change that, with gasoline demand expected to fall significantly from 2030 onwards, declining by 4.5 million bpd by 20401. This is a positive step, but whilst EV adoption is accelerating in passenger transport, many heavy industries – including heavy-duty transport, shipping, rail, mining, and power generation – still require high-performance combustion engines.

Battery technology, while progressing, is not yet scalable for these more intensive uses. In these sectors, improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions isn’t just a long-term ambition, it’s an immediate necessity.

By enhancing combustion, our technology helps these industries reduce fuel consumption and emissions today, ensuring they operate more sustainably while long-term alternatives continue to develop.

Sulnox Eco™: Making Today’s Fuels Cleaner

The challenge of reducing emissions from liquid fuels is why Sulnox developed Sulnox Eco, a fuel conditioner that makes conventional fuels work smarter. It delivers more complete combustion, improving fuel efficiency and reducing harmful emissions across industries where alternative energy solutions remain out of reach.

Our fuel conditioner also has sustainability at its core: it’s 100% organic, biodegradable and free from fossil fuel waste products. It’s also manufactured by Nouryon, who achieved a Gold Ecovadis rating – placing them in the top 5% of sustainable companies globally.

That’s why we’ve seen fantastic momentum for this product across these heavy industries, because switching to alternative fuels or technology often isn’t an option today; but making those fuels cleaner, more efficient, and less polluting? That’s possible right now with Sulnox Eco.

Reducing emissions from liquid fuels is one of the biggest challenges in the energy transition. That’s why Sulnox developed Sulnox Eco, a fuel conditioner that delivers more complete combustion that:

• Improves fuel efficiency: Lowering fuel costs.

• Reduces harmful emissions: From CO₂ to particulate matter.

• Whilst being 100% organic and biodegradable: free from fossil fuel waste.

Manufactured by Nouryon (Gold Ecovadis rated, top 5% of sustainable companies globally), Sulnox Eco is a game changer for heavy industries. Unlike alternative fuels that require new infrastructure, Sulnox works seamlessly with existing fuel systems, requiring zero capital expenditure.

It also complements other efficiency strategies, such as fuel-efficient propellers in shipping, amplifying their benefits without additional upfront costs or downtime.

The Smart Investment in the Energy Transition

The energy transition is underway, but heavy industries can’t afford to wait. The technology to replace oil at scale isn’t ready yet, and companies need practical solutions they can implement today. That’s where Sulnox comes in—helping industries cut emissions and fuel costs right now while long-term alternatives continue to develop.

Sulnox isn’t just a sustainability play—it’s a commercially viable, high-impact solution that delivers measurable results. As long as industries rely on combustion engines, the demand for better fuel efficiency and emissions reduction will only grow.

Take the shipping industry, where Sulnox Eco is already making a significant impact. As adoption grows, the potential is enormous: if implemented industry-wide, Sulnox could cut emissions by an estimated 35 million tonnes of CO₂ per year—equivalent to removing more than 7.5million cars from the road2. This highlights the immediate, scalable impact of improving fuel efficiency in heavy industry, rather than waiting for long-term alternatives.

For investors, the message is clear: Sulnox is providing a critical, scalable, and profitable way to make conventional fuels cleaner and more efficient. Liquid fuels will remain essential for decades, and until alternative technologies can fully replace them, Sulnox ensures they perform better—right now.

References

1. Vitol: Long term oil demand outlook

2. Based on shipping CO2 emissions being 706MT, according to the International Energy Association, Sulnox Eco’s 5% average fuel saving across marine applications, and the average passenger vehicle emitting 4.6MT CO2 annually, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency