OPEC and its allies expect oil inventories to fall further in the coming months, OPEC’s secretary-general said on June 7, suggesting efforts by the producers to support the market are succeeding.
Oil stocks in developed world nations fell by 6.9 million barrels in April, Mohammad Barkindo said in a virtual appearance at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, 160 million barrels lower than the same time one year ago, making the figure public for the first time.
“We expect to see further drawdowns in the months ahead,” he said.
OPEC and allies—known as OPEC+—decided in April to return 2.1 million bbl/d to the market from May through July. The producers stuck to that decision at a meeting last week, sparking a rise in oil prices.
“The market has continued to react positively to the decisions we took, including the upward adjustments of production levels beginning in May this year,” he said.
While he noted that vaccine rollouts and the “massive fiscal stimulus” aided an upbeat outlook, he said uneven global vaccine availability, high inflation and continued COVID-19 outbreaks were continued risks to oil demand.
RELATED:
What’s Affecting Oil Prices This Week? (June 7, 2021)
OPEC+ complied with 114% of agreed output curbs in April, Barkindo said.
The group cut output by a record 9.7 million bbl/d last year as demand collapsed when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck. As of July, the curbs still in place will stand at 5.8 million bbl/d.
During a later panel discussion at the conference, he added that while OPEC did not deny climate change, the global economy still needs oil.
“We encourage all our member countries to continue to invest in renewables but also to continue to meet the demand for hydrocarbons,” he said.
Recommended Reading
Hess Midstream Announces 10 Million Share Secondary Offering
2024-02-07 - Global Infrastructure Partners, a Hess Midstream affiliate, will act as the selling shareholder and Hess Midstream will not receive proceeds from the public offering of shares.
Hess Midstream Subsidiary to Buy Back $100MM of Class B Units
2024-03-13 - Hess Midstream subsidiary Hess Midstream Operations will repurchase approximately 2 million Class B units equal to 1.2% of the company.
Matador Completes NatGas Connections in Delaware Basin
2024-03-25 - Matador Resources completed natural gas pipeline connections between Pronto Midstream to San Mateo Midstream and to Matador’s acreage in the Delaware Basin.
Targa Resources Ups Quarterly Dividend by 50% YoY
2024-04-12 - Targa Resource’s board of directors increased the first-quarter 2024 dividend by 50% compared to the same quarter a year ago.
Pembina Declares Series of Quarterly Dividends
2024-04-10 - Pembina Pipeline Corp’s board of directors declared quarterly dividends for series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 and 25.