Oil output to expand faster than demand

15/06/2017 01:12 AST

Global oil output will expand faster than worldwide demand for oil next year, primarily as US producers rack up production, and that could hamper exporters’ efforts to prop up prices, the IEA said on Wednesday.

A day after Opec complained that increased output in the US was slowing efforts to rebalance supply and demand in the oil market, the IEA also suggested that the dynamism of US producers could prove a headache for exporters.

“In 2018, we expect non-Opec production to grow…slightly more than the expected increase in global demand,” the International Energy Agency wrote in its latest monthly report. “Our first look at 2018 suggests that US crude production will grow year-on-year… but such is the dynamism of this extraordinary, very diverse industry it is possible that growth will be faster,” the report said. “Our first outlook for 2018 makes sobering reading for those producers looking to restrain supply,” the IEA said.

Originally, Opec members had agreed to cut production for six months beginning from the start of the year in a bid to reduce the glut of oil supplies on the shore up prices. Non-cartel producers led by Russia partially matched the cuts.

The measures helped stabilise oil prices at the beginning of the year, with the international benchmark Brent crude sticking above $50 per barrel.

And at a meeting at the end of May, both Opec and non-Opec countries decided to roll over the output cuts for a further nine months.

Nevertheless, dynamic growth in output in the US, particularly by shale producers, seems to be slowing down the rebalancing process.

Oman Daily Observer