Analysis of factors determining the demand for energy resources, is a traditional sphereof applied economic research. The whole history of anthropogenic energy development is associa­ted with the expansion of inter-fuel competition – with the implementation of the new energy sources, expanding the range of options available to mankind for satisfying its energy needs.
In recent decades, advances in the commercialization of a wide range of unconventional energy resources (deep and hard recoverable reserves of oil, different types of unconventionalgas and biomass) and technologies – gas turbine, wind and nuclear power, solar panels, batteries,electricity, and others – not only greatly increase the resources of energy, but also expanded significantly the field of – fuel interchangeability.
Analysis of the structure of energy consumption by sector lead to the following conclu sion: new technologies and national energy policies support the historical trend of the increas ing inter-fuel competition and diversification of fuel mix in all consuming sectors. In the future, the available unconventional energy sources and new technologies can significantly increase both economically viable hydrocarbon reserves, their range of interchangeability (replacing oil by gas) and, most importantly, the limits of competitiveness with the other energy sources (including renewable) – mainly through the further electrification of all spheres of human activities. A new stage of the global energy development will see increased use of gas and electricity in the transportation sector, the further development of inter-fuel competition in the electricity generation and other sectors of consumption. It will mean increased diversification of the fuel basket and therefore sustainability of the global energy consumption.