Supply discipline and rebounding economies are set to give oil a chance to break out of the recent range, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report.
The upward revision marks a change of tone from previous months, in which OPEC has lowered oil demand forecasts because of continued lockdowns.
The new Trafigura carbon trading team, to be headed by Hannah Hauman, will be based in Geneva, Houston and Singapore.
While U.S. natural gas demand was mostly flat in 2020, Mexico’s grew. And it came from Texas. The outlook is that Mexico will be ordering more, including from the Eagle Ford’s underdeveloped gas fairway.
A few days before the April 1 meeting, OPEC+ delegates had said the group would likely keep most existing oil output cuts in place. But in the 24 hours before the meeting started, sources said discussions had shifted to a possible output increase.
The call by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was the first call to Saudi Arabia from a U.S. official ahead of an OPEC meeting since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.
The Joint Technical Committee of OPEC+, which advises the group of oil-producing nations that includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, met on March 30 ahead of a ministerial meeting on April 1 to decide output policy.
Imports of Iranian oil skirt US sanctions.
Saudi Arabia is also ready to extend its own voluntary cuts to boost oil prices amid a new wave of coronavirus lockdowns, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Natural gas producers need export markets to absorb excess production and keep domestic prices buoyant.