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Opec

Quantitative speculators can anticipate and 'accelerate price changes initiated by fundamentals'

‘Bot traders’ defy Opec and determine the price of oil

Oil has been trading at its lowest levels in a year, posing a severe challenge to Opec in its efforts to impose a floor on prices. But analysts say that speculative financial players are also driving price determination, alongside traders who study the fundamentals of supply and demand. Opec has voiced frustration at what it […]

IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol. The agency has cut its 2024 oil demand growth outlook by about 7 percent

IEA cuts oil demand forecast as Chinese economy stalls

Rapidly slowing Chinese economic output is the primary driver of falling global oil demand, the International Energy Agency has said, as it cut the forecast in its monthly oil market report. The Paris-based energy watchdog has trimmed its 2024 oil demand growth outlook by 70,000 barrels per day, or around 7 percent, to an average […]

Opec says worldwide oil demand is going to fall this year and next

Opec trims oil demand outlook again

Opec has reduced its oil demand forecast for 2024 for the second consecutive time, but it remains optimistic despite bearish markets. The oil producers group said on Tuesday that it was revising down world oil demand by 80,000 barrels per day to about 2 million bpd “reflecting data received so far this year”. It also […]

Opec secretary general Haitham Al Ghais. Analysts say the body is running out of options to stabilise oil prices

Opec+ delay to output rise fails to rejuvenate oil price

The decision by Opec+ on Thursday to postpone its oil output hike until December has failed to pump up the markets, where the sentiment remains bearish.  While Opec+ still holds sway over global balances, it is running out of options to stabilise prices, analysts said, as the share price of Aramco, the world’s biggest producer, […]

Opec+ say they will start phasing out the oil production cuts on a monthly basis from December

Opec+ to ‘delay oil output hike for two months’

Opec+ has agreed to delay a planned oil output increase for October and November after crude prices hit their lowest in nine months. A statement on the oil producer group’s website said: “The eight participating countries have agreed to extend their additional voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day for two months until […]

Opec's cut in predicted demand growth to 2.1 million bpd still keeps it above the historical average and the International Energy Agency's expected level

Opec cuts forecast for oil demand growth

Lacklustre growth in the Chinese economy has caused Opec to trim its bullish forecast for growth in international oil demand this year.  The oil producers’ group said on Tuesday that it was cutting its expectation for growth in demand by the world economy by 6 percent, or 135,000 barrels per day (bpd), to 2.1 million […]

Weaker consumer spending has led retailers to cutting prices in attempt to win customers Woman shopping coffee window

Saudi Arabia’s GDP falls as revenue tightens

Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted in the second quarter of 2024 as non-oil activity slowed amid retail pricecutting. However, the end of oil output cuts next year could give the country’s coffers a much-needed boost.  The General Authority for Statistics said in its latest report this week that real GDP fell 0.4 percent compared to the […]

PIF's Fahad AlSaif. The fund is 'becoming more domestically oriented', analysts say

PIF appoints investment chief as it shifts focus to local projects

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has appointed a head of investments as it seeks to manage funding challenges for the giga-projects at the centre of the country’s economic transformation programme.  Fahad AlSaif will be responsible for “guiding the development of PIF’s overarching investment strategy” and helping the fund’s leadership in its decisions, a statement said.  […]

Saudi growth forecast

IMF lowers Saudi growth forecast over oil output cuts

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for economic growth in Saudi Arabia by almost an entire percentage point, as cuts in oil production continue to weigh heavily on the kingdom’s economy.  In its World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF reduced its forecast for Saudi GDP growth to 1.7 percent for this year, down […]

According to the US International Trade Administration, Kuwait holds about 7 percent of global oil reserves and has a current production capacity of about 3 million bpd

‘Huge’ oil discovery could change the game for Kuwait

Kuwait has announced a significant discovery of light oil and associated natural gas in its offshore Al-Nokhatha field. The state-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) – a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) – reported on Sunday that the field, located east of the Kuwaiti island of Failaka, holds approximately 2.1 billion barrels of light oil […]

A wheel manufacturing workshop in Qingzhou, Shandong province. China is the world's largest importer of crude oil

Upturn for manufacturing tipped to lift oil prices

Rising manufacturing activity worldwide is likely to support higher oil prices in the second half of the year, a supply chain indicator suggests. However, analysts have warned that spare capacity among Opec+ and other oil producers is likely to ease upside pressure on crude prices. The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index hit 0.21 in […]

Opec Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais says peak oil 'is not on the horizon'

Upstream oil and gas ‘needs more annual investment’

Annual capital expenditure for exploration and production in the upstream sector of the oil industry needs to increase by 22 percent by 2030 because of growing demand and cost inflation, experts say. A cumulative $4.3 trillion needs to be invested between 2025 and 2030, according to a report by the International Energy Forum (IEF) and […]

Opec has kept its oil demand growth forecast at 2.2 million bpd

Opec and IEA poles apart on oil supply predictions

Opec and the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) have this week both issued reports with vastly differing predictions for the outlook for global crude production in the coming years. However, the opposing organisations agree on one thing: that China will be the determining factor in production and prices this year. In its latest annual medium-term […]

Iraq oil pipeline The Iraq-Turkey pipeline has been an essential source of revenue for the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region

Deal for Iraq oil via Turkish pipeline coming ‘soon’

A deal is expected soon for Iraq to resume oil exports via a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast. The Iraqi oil ministry, Kurdistan’s Ministry of Natural Resources and international oil companies met on Sunday in Baghdad to discuss resuming production and exports, said Iraq’s oil minister, Hayan Abdul Ghani. […]

Saudi Arabia's minister of economy and planning Faisal Alibrahim

Saudi Arabia GDP contracts but non-oil growth rises

Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted by 1.7 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2024 due to ongoing oil production cuts, but non-oil growth was up 3.4 percent in the same period, according to adjusted figures released this week.   Last week Opec+ agreed to extend its existing crude output cuts into 2025 in a […]

While crude may recover to $85 per barrel, Saudi Arabia needs it to be at $96 per barrel to cover budgeted spending, according to the IMF

Crude market expected to recover after steep dive

Leading analysts are anticipating a recovery in the crude market after prices tumbled following a decision by Opec+ to unwind voluntary output cuts, deepening a downward trend over the last two months.  Two reports published this week forecast Brent’s return to levels around $85-$86 per barrel in the coming weeks and for the rest of […]