In Oil & Companies News 05/02/2016
Amid the glut of crude oil in global markets OPEC projects the world’s non-OPEC oil supply in 2016 to decline, but it does not expect a change in Oman’s output from current levels.
The sultanate is the biggest non-OPEC producer in the Middle East.
In its monthly oil market report for January, the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries said the world’s non-OPEC oil supply this year is projected to decline by 660,000 barrels per day (bpd) to average 56.21mn bpd, following a downward adjustment of 270,000 bpd.
It said non-OPEC Middle East oil supply is estimated to decrease by 30,000 bpd in 2016 from the previous year to average 1.23mn bpd. “There is no expectation for growth or decline in oil supply in Oman,” the oil cartel said.
Oman’s daily average production rose four per cent to 981,100 barrels in 2015 against 943,500 barrels in the previous year, recent statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed.
The sultanate’s Oil Minister, H E Mohammed al Rumhi, has said the country is ready to cut five to ten per cent of its crude output if an agreement is reached among OPEC and non-OPEC countries. He added that Oman is ready to join the initiative to ensure a fair price for every oil barrel.
The OPEC’s monthly report said that the downward revision in world’s non-OPEC oil supply has been due to stronger declines expected in the US and Canada, caused by the lower price environment. It said the non-OPEC oil supply is estimated to have averaged 56.87mn barrels per day in 2015, an increase of 1.23mn barrels year-on-year, driven mainly by more growth from the US, Canada, Russia and Norway.
“Non-OPEC marginal barrel production in the next six months will be sensitive to sustained low oil prices, whereby its break-even point would not be able to tolerate the price conditions at that time,” it said.
According to the report, the Middle East’s non-OPEC oil supply is estimated to have decreased by 80,000 barrels in 2015 from the previous year to average 1.26mn barrels.
It added that the ongoing glut of crude oil and the notable slowdown in China’s economy and their predicted effects on oil demand continue to be the key factors weighing on oil prices since the sell-off in oil began 18 months ago.
