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
21 March 2025
Two recent developments raise the prospect of a revival in northern Iraqi oil and gas fortunes, but familiar obstacles could thwart momentum
20 March 2025
As cash-strapped Western governments commit to substantially raising defence expenditure, a similar dynamic is playing out in Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas sector, as Saudi Aramco maintains it heavy capex push despite reduced revenues
20 March 2025
Tariffs, sanctions and trade conflicts are upending the oil market, impacting crude differentials and shipping rates and creating uncertainty
20 March 2025
While advanced economies debate peak fossil fuel demand, billions of people still lack access to reliable and affordable energy, especially in the Global South
