The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Friday that world demand for crude oil will increase to 84.9 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2006.

The world economy enters 2006 in very good health and the expected 1.9-percent increase in oil demand next year is due to a fast economic growth, OPEC said in its December report released in Vienna on Friday.

Even though the price for energy continues to stay high, demand for OPEC crude oil reaches 28.8 mb/d this year, a rise of 0.6 mb/d from last year. The average demand for OPEC crude oil is expected to be 28.7 mb/d in 2006.

Meanwhile, the average increase in the supply of non-OPEC oil is expected to reach 50.2 mb/d by the end of 2005, an increase of 0.4 mb/d over 2004. In 2006, non-OPEC oil supply is estimated to see an increase of 1.4 mb/d over 2005 to 51.6 mb/d.

The 11 OPEC members, producing more than a third of the world total crude oil, supplied 29.97 mb/d in November, a drop from 30.05 mb/d in October.