OPEC says it doesn’t want crude oil prices to rise to $100 per barrel

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies do not want to see oil prices rise to $100 per barrel, in a bid to prevent global energy demand from overheating.

This was disclosed by the Oil Minister of Oman, Mohammed Al Rumhi, in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.

This comes as Brent crude prices have rallied over $84 so far this year.

What the oil minister is saying

Speaking with Bloomberg, Rumhi said, “We’re very careful at OPEC+, we will look at each month as we go.

“But so far, I think 400,000 is good because demand is increasing and we want to make sure that the market is not overheating. We don’t want to see $100 a barrel. The world is not ready for that.”

OPEC+ have been restoring output at a level of 400,000 BPD, although it has been faced with multiple roadblocks from individual member nations.

The Omani Minister added that “Over the past five years investments have been limited in the industry and we’re paying the price for it now.”

He warned that crude oil’s rally is raising inflationary fears in many consuming countries right now, which he says might hurt the economic recovery from the pandemic, citing global production crunch and reduced spending.

What you should know

Recall Nairametrics reported earlier that the outgoing OPEC Secretary-General, Mr Mohammad Barkindo, at the 58th virtual Meeting of the Joint Technical Committee forecasted that total global oil demand in 2022 will hit 100.6 million barrels per day, which will surpass pre-pandemic levels.

This comes after OPEC also revealed that global demand for 2021 was pegged at 96.5 million BPD.