Thursday, March 23, 2023

Oil prices not likely to rise above $100/bbl this year for any sustained period – WoodMac

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U.K. based consultancy group Wood Mackenzie says it is unlikely that oil prices will rise above $100 a barrel (bbl) for any sustained period in this year.

“Under the careful stewardship of OPEC+, the market is back in balance again in 2022 on our forecasts,” said Simon Flowers, Chairman, Chief Analyst and author of The Edge.

Flowers said demand increases by 4.5 million b/d back to pre-pandemic levels of 100 million b/d by Q3, whereas supply rises by 4.8 million b/d, around half from OPEC+.

“Implied inventories show a surplus in Q1 2022 – we do not expect a shortage of supply. Our forecast is for Brent to average US$70/bbl, marginally below 2021,” he pointed out.

Regarding risks, Flowers said due to the impact of the coronavirus and its variants, WoodMac has already trimmed 2022 demand by almost 0.1 million b/d.

The consultancy group does not expect Iran sanctions to be lifted in 2022 but up to 1 million b/d of crude could return to market within months.

As it relates to geopolitics – Flowers said Russia/Ukraine, China/Taiwan and Belarus/Poland/EU are potential flashpoints that could spook markets.

Non-OPEC supply will see countries such as Guyana adding to global output in 2022. ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase 2 Development will soon come on stream, bringing total output this year for the South American county to around 340,000 barrels of oil per day.

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