Global demand for ’23 OPEC crude 900,000 bpd higher than ’22

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that global demand for OPEC crude in 2023 is around 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) higher than in 2022.

OPEC’s report, which was distributed in Vienna Tuesday, stated that this demand remained unchanged in 2023 from the previous assessment at 29.3 million bpd.

OPEC-13 crude oil production in May decreased by 464,000 bpd to average 28.06 million bpd, the report mentioned.

On oil prices, the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) fell by USD 8.31, or 9.9 percent, to USD 75.82 per barrel (pb) in May, it said.

The ICE Brent front-month contract declined by USD 7.68, or 9.2 percent, to USD 75.69 pb, and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined by USD 7.82, or 9.8 percent, to average USD 71.62 pb, it noted.

World economic growth is estimated at 3.3 percent for 2022 and forecast at 2.6 percent for 2023, both unchanged from the previous month’s assessment, it pointed out.

The global economy continues to navigate through uncertainties including high inflation, higher interest rates in the US and the Euro-zone, and high debt levels in many regions, the report indicated.

According to the report, the US economic growth forecast for 2023 is revised up by 0.1 percent to stand at 1.3 percent, following a growth of 2.1 percent for 2022.

The Euro-zone’s economic growth forecast for 2023 remains at 0.8 percent, following a growth of 3.5 percent for 2022, OPEC said.

China’s economic growth forecast remains at 5.2 percent for 2023, following a growth of 3.0 percent for 2022, the report pointed out.

India’s 2022 economic growth estimate is unchanged at 6.7 percent, and the forecast for 2023 remains at 5.6 percent, it mentioned.

Russia’s growth is also unchanged, with an estimated contraction of 2.1 percent for 2022 and a forecast contraction of 0.5 percent for 2023, according to OPEC’s report.

Non-OPEC oil supply is estimated to have grown by 1.9 million bpd.

The report revealed that the main drivers of oil supply growth are expected to be the US, Brazil, Norway, Canada, Kazakhstan and Guyana, while declines are expected primarily from Russia.

Uncertainties remain related to US shale oil output potential and unplanned maintenance in 2023, OPEC report stated.

Source: Kuwait News Agency