The price is right
With the help of thirsty consumers and collapsing Venezuelan output, the market seems at last to have found its range
Venezuela's oil output falls steadily. The nuclear deal with Iran appears doomed. Analysts and diplomats fret that another conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is looming. Opec shows no sign of ending its cuts. Demand is strong. Non-Opec output is soaring. A global trade war seems imminent. These are grounds for significant oil-price volatility. Yet the most telling feature of the market is its relative calm. Since Opec and its partners started cutting in January 2017, the widest intra-month price difference has been $7.17 a barrel. In the year before, it was more than $10. In 2016, the differential average was $6.75/b; in 2015, $7.72; and in 2014, $7.17. Since the cuts, the average has bee
Also in this section
10 December 2024
Sector at economic and strategic crossroads, but clear path ahead for midstream additions
30 November 2024
Decades of turmoil have left Iraq’s vast energy potential underutilised, but renewed investment and strategic reforms are transforming it into a key player in the region
29 November 2024
The country's fifth and sixth oil and gas bid rounds have attracted a range of new players with gas as well as oil ambitions—and there’s a seismic shift in the contracting process
28 November 2024
Iraq is charting a new path for its indigenous resources and its youth, hoping to electrify the future with a mix of reforms and modernisation to fuel growth
