Drilling for oil: Floor hands working on the Orion Perseus drilling rig in Texas. The Perseus is drilling for oil and gas in the Eagle Ford Shale. American producers are rushing to lock in revenue as US crude approaches US60 a barrel. — Bloomberg
LONDON: The two most critical forecasts of global oil markets offer contrasting visions for 2018: one in which the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) finally succeeds in clearing a supply glut, and another where that goal remains elusive.
In the estimation of Opec, production curbs by the cartel and its allies will finally eliminate the excess oil inventories that have depressed crude prices for more than three years. But in the view of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises consumers, that surplus will barely budge.
