Analysts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have kept their global oil demand outlook for the year unchanged.
However, they have downgraded their projection of non-OPEC liquids supply by 230,000 b/d due to the vast US well shut-ins during the winter ice storm.
The call on OPEC crude — the volume needed from the organisation to balance global demand and supply — will rise to 27.65 million b/d in 2021, it said in its latest monthly oil market report.
This is an increase on the group’s 25.08 million b/d of crude production in April, based on secondary source estimates, the report stated.
Though OPEC kept its demand forecast unchanged for the year at 96.46 million b/d, a rise of 5.95 million b/d from 2020, it said most of the growth will happen in the back half of the year.
“Positive transportation fuel data from the US, and acceleration in vaccination programs in many regions provide further optimism in H2 2021,” the report stated. “The assumed return to some degree of normality and improved mobility is also expected to positively affect regions such as the Middle East and Other Asia in H2 2021.”
On the supply side, non-OPEC countries are now expected to produce 63.60 million b/d in 2021. The lowered forecast is “mainly due to the US liquids production outage of 2.2 million b/d seen in February, following the winter storms and freeze.”
For more information visit www.opec.org
