Oil demand faces an uncertain future

A recovery in demand is key to getting the oil market back into balance. But both short and long-term prospects are clouded

Saudi Arabia and Russia’s move to unconstrained supply after the breakdown of the Opec+ accord may have kicked off the 2020 oil price crash, but it is the demand impact of Covid-19 that has taken over as its primary driver. It is thus unsurprising that the demand outlook was a hot PE Live 1 topic. In the short-term, one of the trickiest aspects is that there are a number of moving parts and all of them are difficult to call, says Andy Brogan, global oil and gas leader at EY. There is the macroeconomic picture, but also demand for different refined products, as well as the highly unusual storage logistics situation to unwind. “Does the economy come back quickly, or smoothly but slowly, or do