is much worse than it looks, argues Julian Lee, here…
”Still, whether you measure them as simple volumes or in terms of cover for future demand, OECD stockpiles are rising. Admittedly, much of the recent increase comes from natural gas liquids (light oils produced in large quantities from U.S. shale) which are used widely as petrochemical feedstocks. When you strip these out of the numbers, OECD inventories of crude oil plus the major fuel products – gasoline, middle distillates (diesel, heating oil and jet fuel) and fuel oil – are below their five-year average level.
Yet the stockpiles calculated on this basis are well above their 2010-2014 average and that’s the real problem for OPEC+ ministers when they meet in Abu Dhabi.”
Lee concludes:
”Saudi Arabia can’t rescue oil prices on its own. With demand growth weakening and non-OPEC supply rising, the producing nations may to have to consider both longer and deeper cuts.”
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