OPEC will continue with supply adjustments for the oil market

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will continue with its supply adjustments for the oil market, said the secretary general of OPEC this Saturday (4).

“We will continue to do what we know how to do best to ensure the stability of the oil market on a sustainable basis,” said Mohammad Barkindo, at an online seminar organized by Italian think-tank ISPI.

Commodity prices fell on Thursday (2) after OPEC and its allies maintained their existing policy of monthly increases in oil production, despite concerns that the release of reserves by the US and the new Ômicron variant of the coronavirus more pressure on prices.

Barkindo said that in terms of oil demand the estimate at the time was for growth of 5.7 million barrels per day. “In 2022, we expect another 4.2 million”, he said.

He argued that the uncertainty and volatility in the markets was also due to external factors, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and not necessarily due to oil and gas fundamentals.

“We are now on the path to returning consumption levels in 2022 to pre-Covid levels,” he said.

Barkindo said oil and gas were forecast to represent more than 50% of the global energy mix by 2045 or even mid-century.

“In all the pronouncements we’ve had in Glasgow, we haven’t yet seen a concrete map or plans to replace that 50%…without creating unprecedented turmoil in the energy market,” he said, referring to the climate summit in Glasgow.

“Oil and gas will be needed in the near future.”