Biofuels will account for 63 percent of oil supply growth from non-OPEC countries this year, taking global production of crop-based fuel to more than 1.5 million barrels a day, the International Energy Agency said today.

Biofuels output will grow by 425,000 barrels a day this year, a 57 percent increase from a year ago, the IEA said in its monthly report. Total non-OPEC supply growth this year is expected to average 680,000 barrels a day, compared with 550,000 barrels a day last year, the report said.


"While it seems unlikely that biofuel targets will be reversed in the near future, it is sobering to realize the amount of oil that would be needed to replace them," the IEA said. "Just offsetting the biodiesel and ethanol added to the U.S. and European markets since 2005 would require around 1 million barrels a day of additional crude oil supplies to be processed."