OPEC sticks to plan of gradual output hikes as crude soars
The leaders of OPEC and its oil-producing allies are sticking with their plan to gradually increase oil production while Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine rattles markets, reshapes alliances, kills civilians and sends the price of crude skyrocketing.
Saudis take on burden of oil output cut to support price
Their goal is to eventually increase production by 2 million barrels a day. That would partially withdraw the 7.7 million barrels a day in production cuts agreed last year. OPEC faces conflicting pressures after last year's plunge in oil prices as the pandemic held back energy use and travel. But pumping too much too soon could undermine the modest rebound in energy prices. The decision Tuesday saw energy prices jump.
OPEC, Russia to nudge up oil output after hit from pandemic
VIENNA โ OPEC and allied countries including Russia agreed Thursday to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels a day from January and said they would meet monthly to decide further output levels, gingerly adding more crude to a global economy still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision followed days of wrangling over whether to increase output early next year at all after the pandemic sapped demand for energy and clouded the outlook for the industry. The OPEC members and a group of allies had made deep cuts in production last year to support prices as the pandemic sharply reduced demand for fuel. Oil producing countries face a dilemma: producing more increases their revenues but could send prices lower, especially given still-weak demand and uncertain prospects for the speed and timing of a post-pandemic economic recovery. Energy forecasters around the world, including those employed by OPEC, have been lowering their forecasts about how much oil will be needed.
OPEC cuts oil demand forecasts, BP sees 'peak oil' in 2020s
LONDON โ Developing countries' difficulty in containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic will keep a lid on global oil demand, particularly in India, the OPEC cartel said Monday as it cut its forecasts. OPEC cut its estimates for world demand by 400,000 barrels a day for both this year and next. It now sees a drop in demand of 9.5 million barrels a day in 2020 and a rise of 6.6 million barrels in 2021. The price of oil plunged during the initial phase of the pandemic as businesses and transportation ground to a halt around the world. BP says it expects demand for crude oil to peak in the early 2020s.
Texas oil boom messes with OPEC's plans to keep prices high
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON, D.C. - To set a floor under oil prices, OPEC is showing remarkable restraint by holding back production. But that effort keeps getting undermined by the American shale oil boom. Texas alone is expected to soon top 5 million barrels per day in oil production more than any OPEC member other than Saudi Arabia. The cartel expects demand for its output will decline next year by 1.3 million barrels to 29.27 million. Oil prices have also benefited from elevated tensions between the United States and Iran.
OPEC prepares to extend oil production cuts
Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer within OPEC, and Russia, the cartel's most powerful ally, met over the weekend to discuss extending supply curbs that were first introduced in 2017 after global oil prices crashed. Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih met with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak on the sidelines of a summit of G20 leaders in Osaka, Japan. Oil prices gained 2.4% on Monday in anticipation of an agreement to continue withholding supply. It won't please President Donald Trump, however, who has repeatedly called for OPEC to pump more oil to keep U.S. gas prices in check. The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world's biggest oil producer, thanks in large part to a boom in the Permian Basin in West Texas.