Petrodollars: The great global divergence

Opec is losing market share as North American supplies rise and global demand remains tepid

Both this year and in 2014, the call on the group’s crude is set to fall. Non-Opec production is behind this. Output growth of 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d) in 2013 and 1.6m b/d in 2014, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), will more than account for global demand rises of 990,000 b/d this year and 1.1m b/d next year. But don’t shed too many tears for Opec. Its net petro-income continues to soar – even while the fuel bill keeps mounting for the group’s clients in net-importing countries. Fatih Birol, the IEA’s chief economist, says Opec will trouser about $1.2 trillion in oil-export revenue this year, or about 50% more than in in 2007. In the same period, says Birol, Opec’s