The IEA Lashes Out At OPEC As A New Oil Price War Looms

Related stories

Natasha vs Akpabio: Court Orders Senate President To Recall Senator Natasha

Warns Natasha Against inappropriate Conduct By Abiola Olawale The Federal...

Hadi Sirika Denies Defection to ADC Coalition Rumors, Reaffirms Loyalty to Buhari, APC

By Abiola Olawale Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has...

China Snubs U.S. Crude for Third Month, Even as Ethane Trade Restarts

China has avoided buying U.S. crude oil for three...

Super Eagles Icon Peter Rufai Passes Away at 61

By Abiola Olawale The Nigerian football community has been thrown...

Dakuku Peterside’s Beneath the Surface Book Out in October

By Abiola Olawale Masobe Books, a renowned publisher has announced...

…The head of the International Energy Agency has criticized OPEC for failing to do enough with regard to lowering oil prices

…While Biden coordinated a reserve release from multiple oil-consuming nations, oil prices only climbed higher and OPEC threatened to react

…Some analysts are now warning of another oil price war, just as oil markets are months away from balancing

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has lashed out at OPEC for failing to bring oil prices down. ″[A] factor I would like to underline that caused these high prices is the position some of the major oil and gas suppliers, and some of the countries did not take, in our view, a helpful position in this context,” Birol said, as quoted by CNBC this week.

“In fact, some of the key strains in today’s markets may be considered as artificial tightness … because in oil markets today we see close to 6 million barrels per day of spare production capacity lies with the key producers, OPEC+ countries,” Birol added.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Energy would release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in a bid to lower high gasoline prices in a coordinated effort with other major oil-consuming nations.

“[T]his release will be taken in parallel with other major energy consuming nations including China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom,” the White House said on Tuesday.

The coordinated release was meant to cool oil prices, but instead, prices rallied after the U.S. said it would release crude from strategic reserves.

The IEA acknowledged the release of oil but made a point of noting that the agency had nothing to do with it, with Birol saying the IEA only resorts to reserve releases in emergencies. The official noted the move by the U.S. and its allies was related to the fact that surging oil prices had placed an additional burden on consumers at a time when inflation was also on the rise, and higher oil prices were only aggravating the situation.

So far, OPEC+ has not indicated that either inflation or anything else would interfere with its plans to stick to additions of 400,000 bpd to combined production every month until total output returns to pre-pandemic levels. Instead, there have been hints that the cartel might pause the additions in response to the reserve release.

“A new and unchartered type of price war is brewing in the oil market,” said Rystad Energy analyst Louise Dickson, as quoted by CNBC, questioning the timing of the release announcement as forecasts point to the oil market moving closer to balance in the first quarter of next year.

NB: Irina Slav wote this article for Oilprice.com

Irina Slav
Irina Slav
Hamilton Nwosa is an experienced, and committed communication, business, administrative, data and research specialist . His deep knowledge of the intersection between communication, business, data, and journalism are quite profound. His passion for professional excellence remains the guiding principle of his work, and in the course of his career spanning sectors such as administration, tourism, business management, communication and journalism, Hamilton has won key awards. He is a delightful writer, researcher and data analyst. He loves team-work, problem-solving, organizational management, communication strategy, and enjoys travelling. He can be reached at: hamilton_68@yahoo.com

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Hadi Sirika Denies Defection to ADC Coalition Rumors, Reaffirms Loyalty to Buhari, APCChina Snubs U.S. Crude for Third Month, Even as Ethane Trade RestartsSuper Eagles Icon Peter Rufai Passes Away at 61Dakuku Peterside’s Beneath the Surface Book Out in OctoberOil Prices Dip on Confirmation of Inventory BuildBuhari In Stable Condition - Ex-Aide ConfirmsBREAKING: Ex-President Buhari sick, hospitalised abroad2027: Abure, Usman Clash Over Peter Obi’s Rising Profile in ADC CoalitionMTN’s Dabengwa Tier III Cloud Data Centre: A New Era for West African Tech and AIGanduje: Why are they resigning?OPEC Reports a Global Oil Production Decline in 2024IMF Warns FG to Overhaul 2025 Budget to Prevent Economic Meltdown2027: Peter Obi Vows, Says ADC Coalition 'll prioritize Nigerians’ WelfareTragedy! Liverpool Star Diogo Jota Dies in Car Crash in SpainFamily Announces Burial Date of Ex-Kwara Governor, Cornelius Adebayo
X whatsapp