Opec predicts the re-balancing will be complete by late next year as those stockpiles plunge by about 130 million barrels in 2018. Opec expects it will need to pump about 34 million barrels day in the second half, while the IEA sees a requirement of just 32.7 million a day. The difference partly lies in their conflicting views of the supply source that unleashed the glut Opec is now battling to clear: US shale oil. “The uncertainty surrounding shale oil production for next year has resulted in very differing views on the 2018 fundamental picture,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd in London. Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih, speaking at the Opec meeting in Vienna, rejected the IEA’s outlook for 2018 as excessively pessimistic.

Source: The Star December 16, 2017 00:00 UTC