Predicting oil prices
Bulging stocks, US output gains and Opec's need to make further production cuts are derailing a recovery in oil prices, according to AOGC 2017’s conference chairman
Rising inventories suggest oil prices could well head down before any recovery, though the crude market is likely to reach balance earlier than its gas counterpart, according to Fereidun Fesharaki, AOGC 2017 conference chairman. "What impacts the price is not actually supply-demand fundamentals. The paper players—the speculators in the market—they only watch one thing: inventories," he told delegates. With a luminous crystal ball at his side to inform his future-gazing, Fesharaki, chairman of consultancy FGE, said that while players across the oil industry had done a remarkable job in ensuring compliance with production cuts demanded by Opec, oil inventories were stubbornly refusing to go do
Also in this section
19 March 2026
The regional crisis highlights the undervalued role of fixed pipelines in the age of tanker flexibility
18 March 2026
Rising LNG exports and AI-driven power demand have raised concerns that US gas prices could climb sharply, but analysts say abundant shale supply and continued productivity gains should keep Henry Hub within a range that preserves the competitiveness of US LNG
18 March 2026
Risks of shortages in oil products may cause world leaders to panic and make mistakes instead of letting the market do what it does best
17 March 2026
The crisis in the Middle East has put LNG’s ability to offer security and flexibility under uncomfortable scrutiny
