Oil Price Crisis: OPEC loses $1trn
OPEC members have declared more than $1trn in losses and a decline of 26 per cent in industry-related investments. This is as a result of the over two years of oil price crisis.
Secretary-General, OPEC, Sanusi Barkindo disclosed this at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Group meetings in Washington DC.
Asides this fact, he also said that there is a projection that the oil industry would record further contraction of about 22 per cent in investment this year. This is due to the unsteady developments in the growth of the global economy.
He said there was cautious optimism that the recent increase in oil price, which was pushed to $50 a barrel by the recent production cut by OPEC, would continue.
No End In Sight To Crisis
Barkindo added that the prospect for 2017 is also still looking bleak. The world is set to witness three consecutive years of depressed oil prices and contraction in capital investments, particularly in the upstream.
He described this as a very serious development that is threatening future supply to the global community with its consequences on the fragile economies.
The OPEC boss however noted that the decision to agree on a range of ceiling of 32.5 million barrels a day to 33 million barrels a day production was proactive and timely, adding that the objective was to restore stability in the market and address the issue of high inventories that was depressing prices.
