IEA: no speedy end to oil glut
October 11, 2016
Presenting its October Oil Market Report, IEA officials said Tuesday that OPEC countries must swiftly deliver on promised cuts, should they really want a sustained increase in oil prices.
The International Energy Agency noted production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries hit a record high in September of 33.64 million barrels a day. It added that Iraq produced more oil than ever, while Libya reopened oil ports.
As supply ran high, demand was slowing along with the global economy, the IEA said. It forecast that the market would remain oversupplied through mid-2017, if OPEC didn't enact its pledge to cut supply between 32.5 and 33 million barrels per day.
Support just on paper?
At the World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday his country was ready to reduce oil production in support of OPEC's initiative to trim output.
He criticized the surplus of oil and warned that if current tendencies continued, it would lead to lack of financing, deficits and new price fluctuations hitting both producers and consumers.
But on Tuesday, the head of Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft, Igor Sechin, told the Reuters news agency he was not in favor of trimming output.
"Why should we do that," he asked, adding that Rosneft would not be part of any agreements between OPEC and oil-producing countries outside the cartel to throttle production.
hg/jd (Reuters, AP)