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Oil prices in the international market may continue to be on the rise. This is going by predictions by researchers at J.P. Morgan.
“We are turning bullish now as we envisage an emerging supply-demand gap beyond 2025, coupled with strengthening bottom-up sector fundamentals,”the Global Head of Energy Strategy and Head of EMEA Oil & Gas Equity Research at J.P. Morgan, Christyan Malek said.
The prediction is based on a number of indices considered by the firm. For instance, it noted that in the U.S., the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is currently around 40 per cent below the long-term average level of 600 million barrels, just as commercial crude inventories are similarly below historical averages, standing at 418 million barrels as of September 15.
It therefore noted that going forward, U.S. production is expected to be limited as higher-for-longer interest rates dampen the flow of capital into new supply, shale productivity peaks and operators prioritise shareholder returns over growth.
In the same vein, analysts at J.P Morgan noted, most of the supply sources elsewhere around the globe are being depleted as fields’ production levels naturally decline and new investments remain limited.
While the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is ramping up production to meet rising demand and accordingly depletes its spare capacity, this introduces an additional risk premium of around $20-$30 per barrel, which usually leads to increased oil price volatility.
Geopolitical unrest could further elevate oil prices, which recently spiked seven per cent following the Israel-Hamas conflict. “While there are no immediate threats to oil supply, the conflict is a wake-up call about the lack of spare capacity. We believe this is an example of an emerging risk premium related to diminishing spare oil production capacity, and we expect short-term spikes to continue over the medium term while becoming more sustained,” Malek noted.
Yet, demand, on the other hand, is rising. J.P. Morgan Research forecasts that world oil demand will reach 106.9 mbd by 2030- an increase of 5.5 mbd from 2023 levels. This is underpinned by population growth and rising energy consumption in developing nations, outweighing the energy efficiency measures being undertaken in developed economies.
It further noted that rising energy demand places greater pressure on traditional fuels to fill the gap. This is because the clean energy system is not yet mature enough to capture and distribute the significant increase in the generation of clean joules due to supply chain, infrastructure, and key materials bottlenecks. “Generating and distributing the joules necessary to meet global energy demand growth and progressively decarbonize is a multi-decade process,” Malek added. Overall, J.P. Morgan Research estimates that global oil markets could face a 1.1 mbd deficit in 2025, widening to 7.1 mbd in 2030.
Source: thenationonline.com
