IEA does not foresee oil demand peaking soon, Birol says

FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency (IEA) does not expect oil demand to peak any time soon due to rising consumption in developing economies, Director Fatih Birol said on Monday.

Birol also warned that oil markets could enter a period of high volatility unless companies develop new projects after two years of sharp drops in investments sparked by low oil prices.

"We do not see in the near and medium terms oil products can be substituted by other fuels. More than one third of growth comes from trucks in developing Asia... We do not subscribe to oil demand peaking anytime soon," Birol said at the GE Oil and Gas annual meeting in Florence, Italy.

"If there are no major new major projects this year, it will be very difficult to see how we do not have turbulent times in the market in the years to come because of the growing supply gap."

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely)