OPEC cut forecasts for global oil-supply growth in 2015 as U.S. drillers lead a slowdown in drilling after last year’s price collapse, Bloomberg said Feb. 9.
OPEC lowered its estimate for non-OPEC supply growth by about 400,000 barrels a day (bbl/d), led by a reduction of 130,000 bbl/d in the U.S. Estimates for Colombia, Canada and Yemen were also trimmed. The group said it might boost global demand forecasts beyond this month’s slight increase amid rising U.S. gasoline use.
Oil has rebounded more than 20% in the past two weeks in London as a seven-month price slump pressured U.S. drillers to idle rigs and companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Chevron Corp. to curb spending plans. U.S. oil explorers have cut the number of rigs in operation to the lowest in three years, data from Baker Hughes Inc. showed on Feb. 6.
“The main factors for the lower growth prediction in 2015 are price expectations, a declining number of active rigs in North America, a decrease in drilling permits in the U.S. and a reduction in the 2015 spending plans of international oil companies,” OPEC’s Vienna-based research department said in its monthly market report.
U.S. oil supply will increase 820,000 bbl/d in 2015 to 13.64 MMbbl/d, about half the gain recorded in 2014, according to the report. The estimate for total non-OPEC supply growth in 2015 was cut by 420,000 to 850,000 bbl/d, with Colombia accounting for the second-biggest reduction after the U.S. Non-OPEC supply will still expand to 57.09 MMbbl/d in 2015.
While the organization increased estimates for the amount of crude it will need to provide this year, as a result of weaker non-OPEC growth, the 29.2 MMbbl/d required remains about 1 MMbbl/d below its current output.
Production from OPEC’s 12 members slipped by 53,000 bbl/d in January to 30.15 MMbbl/d because of losses in Iraq, according to external sources cited by the report. Iraq’s production dropped by 279,100 bbl/d in January to 3.35 MMbbl/d, according to the report.
Global oil demand will increase by 1.17 MMbbl/d, or 1.3%, in 2015 to 92.32 MMbbl/d, according to the report.
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