Fresh from taking the decision to persist with its 30mn b/d production target – and in turn its November 2014 policy to defend market share over oil prices – Opec this week said it expects the excess supply in world oil markets to soon ease, as world oil demand picks up over the second half of the year, and supply growth from outside the group slows in the second and third quarters. But should the group continue to pump at well beyond its self-imposed production target, as it has done for the better part of the year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that this may ultimately prove to be a case of wishful thinking.
“Despite signs of a slowdown in non-Opec supply, notably in the US, global production growth remains exceptionally high,” the IEA said in its 11 June oil market report (OMR) – making implicit reference to the sustained strong production from the 12 Opec members. (CONTINUED - 1624 WORDS)
