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OPEC trims 2016 oil demand growth, says its output rises slightly
OPEC on Wednesday predicted global demand for its crude oil will be less than previously thought in 2016 as consumption slows down, increasing the excess supply on the market this year. The monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries lowered its forecast of world oil demand growth by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) and said further downward revisions could follow. OPEC pumped 32.25 million bpd in March, the group said citing secondary sources, up about 15,000 bpd from February. The report points to a 790,000-bpd excess supply in 2016 if the group keeps pumping at March’s rate, up from 760,000 bpd implied in last month’s report. (Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Keith Weir)
Oil Can Top $50 a Barrel With Freeze Deal, Bank of America Says
Oil prices can climb above $50 a barrel if an output freeze deal is struck in Doha this weekend, according to Bank of America Corp. “A flat output profile for OPEC (excluding Iran) and Russia would tighten global balances by almost 0.5 million barrels a day in the second half relative to our expectations and push the oil market into a deficit in the third quarter,” the U.S. bank wrote in a note on Wednesday. That would “push prices above $50 near term,” it said. […]
OPEC demand forecast drags oil prices lower
A three-day rally for crude oil prices came to an end Wednesday after OPEC said in its monthly report for April that demand was expected to falter. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said its forecast for growth in world oil demand in 2016 was lowered by 50,000 barrels per day to 1.2 million bpd. That’s lower than the estimated growth for 2015 by more than 20 percent. In its macroeconomic forecast, OPEC said the global economy was expected to grow from 2.9 percent last year to 3.1 percent in 2016. “While many soft spots in the global economy remain, recent data is pointing at some improving momentum in the […]
Non-OPEC oil supply to fall 730,000 b/d in 2016
OPEC warns oversupply persists amid record inventories OPEC believes crude supply outside the producer group is set to fall more than expected, with weaker Chinese, Colombian, UK and US oil output eclipsing better outlooks for Canada, Norway, Oman and Russia. The outlook for non-OPEC supply has been hit largely by lower expectations for crude oil production from China’s onshore mature fields. OPEC also cited the postponement of major new projects due to reduced cash flow as the impact of lower prices takes its toll. Article Continues below… Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, midstream transportation and financial reports Supply and demand trends, government actions, exploration and technology Daily futures summary Weekly API statistics, and much more The […]
Little Impact Seen on Oil Supplies If Doha Deal Struck, IEA Says
An agreement by producing countries to freeze crude production at the Doha meeting on Sunday would have a limited impact on oil flows, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. OPEC and non-OPEC countries — including Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s two biggest crude producers — will meet in Doha on April 17 in a bid to freeze production at January levels. A deal would represent the first attempt at coordinating oil production between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and producers outside the group in 15 years. Yet the IEA sees scant impact on physical oil flows if a deal is struck. “If there is to be a production freeze, rather than a cut, the impact on physical oil supplies will be limited,” the IEA said in its monthly report. Part of the reason is that Saudi Arabia and Russia are “already producing at or near record rates,” […]
Huge Oil Supertanker Lines Forming “World’s Biggest Traffic Jam”
What a Mess
“It may be the world’s biggest traffic jam.” Last week we revealed what we thought was a “ shocking photo ” of nearly 30 oil tankers caught in a traffic jam off the Iraqi coast, an indication of just how much excess oil is currently parked offshore. To be sure, the record offshore storage is a problem because with the front-end contango collapsing, DB warned just several weeks ago when comparing the current level of floating storage (157.3 million barrels) versus that in early February (126.6 million barrels), that there may be an additional 31 million barrels of inventory to be drawn down between now and the next inventory trough over the next several months. It calculated that “depending on the duration of drawdown (three months or six months) this could mean anywhere from 165-330 kb/d of incremental supply.” But the photo above, meant to do DB’s thesis justice, […]
