OPEC pres sees $200 oil possible amid short supply
Güncelleme Tarihi:
OPEC President Chakib Khelil does not rule out oil prices reaching $200 a barrel, even though supply is adequate, because the market is driven by the dollar's slide as the world oil market faces its biggest supply distruption in recent years.
"Questioned about a possible rise which would go to $200, the minister did not rule out this eventuality, explaining that this rise is indexed from now on to the fall in the dollar or to the rise in the dollar," El Moudjahid reported.
"In terms of fundamentals, stocks are high, demand is easing, supply is satisfactory. Therefore normally, without geo-political problems and the fall of the dollar, the prices of oil would not be at this level," he was quoted as saying. Khelil, a former World Bank official, is also Algeria's Minister of Energy and Mines. Â
Oil prices trade at record high levels with the rise in demand and supply distruptions. Roughly 2.5 percent of global output was halted over the weekend because of labor disputes in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.Â
Oil-worker strikes in the two countries involve disagreements over worker pay and pensions. Even if agreements are reached soon, it will be weeks before oil production can be returned to full service. Complex drilling and pipeline systems require many days to gradually ramp-up service.
The strike and recent rebel attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria and the worker walkouts in the UK have collectively blocked around 2.14 million barrels a day. This amounts to about 2.5 percent of the roughly 86 million barrels consumed every day globally and is the biggest disruption to world supply since hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico shut a big chunk of U.S. output three years ago, WSJ added.