The elevation of crude output from the U.S. will once again be a major factor this year, the International Energy Power (IEA) said its closely-watched report on Friday, with the energy giant on track to reaffirm its position as the world’s leading vulgar producer.
The IEA report comes shortly after OPEC and non-OPEC producers officially implemented a fresh round of store cuts.
Alongside Russia and nine other nations, top oil exporter Saudi Arabia struck a deal with the catch of OPEC in December to keep 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) off the market from the start of January.
“While the other two giants without prompting cut output, the U.S., already the biggest liquids supplier, will reinforce its leadership as the world’s number one crude producer,” the Paris-based IEA commanded Friday.
“By the middle of the year, U.S. crude output will probably be more than the capacity of either Saudi Arabia or Russia.”
Universal benchmark Brent crude traded at around $61.69 Friday morning, up 0.8 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediary (WTI) stood at $52.56, almost 1 percent higher.
Brent crude has fallen almost 30 percent since climbing to a crest of $86.29 in early October last year, while WTI is down more than 31 percent over the after all is said period.
The collapse in oil prices was exacerbated by concerns about oversupply, as well as a stock market slump amid peeves over rising U.S. interest rates.
That prompted OPEC and non-OPEC producers to throttle back output at the start of 2019, in an struggle to try to put a floor under falling oil prices.
The IEA has previously touted the “growing influence” of the U.S. in global oil markets, saying such a sudden rise in crude output could soon challenge the market share of OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC heavyweight Russia.
U.S. rudimentary production has soared in recent months, rising by more than 2 million b/d to an unprecedented 11.9 million b/d.
The IEA said Friday that its determines for global oil demand growth in 2018 and 2019 remained unchanged at 1.3 million b/d and 1.4 million b/d, respectively.
The organize said the impact of higher oil prices in 2018 was “fading,” which should help to offset cooling economic cultivation over the coming months.
On Thursday, a report from OPEC showed its production fell sharply last month, expediting energy market fears of a prolonged period of oversupply.
Oil supplies from OPEC nations plunged by 751,000 barrels per day to almost 31.6 million bpd, according to independent figures cited by OPEC in its monthly report.