CHICAGO, IL – According to BP’s recently released Statistical Review of World Energy 2006, consumption of oil in the United States dropped 0.16% in 2005 from the year before, declining slightly from an average of 20.732 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 20.655 mbpd. Global consumption of oil, however, increased 1.3% from 2004 to 2005, climbing from 81.444 mbpd to 82.459 mbpd. U.S. share of global consumption thus dropped from 25.46% to 25.05%. Small as it was, the 2005 decline in U.S. consumption was the first since 2001, when it dropped 0.27% to 19.649 mbpd. China, the second-largest consumer of oil behind the United States, saw its consumption climb 2.9% from 6.772 mbpd to 6.988 mbpd. Japan, the third largest oil user, also increased consumption 1.4% from 5.286 mbpd to 5.360 mbpd. Meanwhile, oil production in the United States continued its decline, dropping 5.5% in 2005 to 6.820 mbpd — assisted in that loss by the impact of the hurricanes in the Gulf. Worldwide, oil production — including crude oil, shale oil, oil sands, and natural gas liquids — increased by 1% in 2005 to 81.088 mbpd.