WTI Crude Oil Hits Six-Year Low Price Falls Despite OPEC Production Forecast

[Purveyor]

Source: CITY A.M.

Brent crude oil prices fell 1.32 per cent to $53.95 a barrel today, even though a statement by oil cartel Opec suggested growth in supply could begin to dwindle.

Meanwhile, WTI crude slumped to $44.30, a new six-year low for the benchmark. In just over a week, its price has fallen by nearly $10.

The fall is despite a suggestion from Opec that growth in production among non-Opec countries could begin to suffer as the oil price drops further. It said the full impact of falling prices on producers in the US and Canada "will become more evident in the comping months".



It added it expects US supply to rise by just 820,000 barrels per day in 2015, compared with an increase of 1.6m barrels per day last year. Among other non-Opec countries, production will rise by a similarly modest 850,000 barrels per day.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-16/oil-is-getting-slammed-again-and-falling-to-its-lowest-level-in-years

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OPEC Warns U.S. Oil Boom Could Over by Year-End

OPEC said Monday the U.S. oil boom could be over by the end of this year, offering a pessimistic view of American producers’ ability to withstand a historic collapse in crude prices and predicting that global petroleum supplies would realign with demand.

The cartel, in its closely watched monthly oil-market report, cited spending cuts by U.S. producers and the falling number of American rigs drilling for oil in recent months after crude prices fell by about 60% from last summer to January before rallying in February. For instance, rig counts fell faster in February than they did in January, according to the latest Baker Hughes report.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries report comes when oil markets are at a crossroads and demonstrates the uncertainty over the staying power of the American oil boom.

Just last week, the International Energy Agency said that American producers were defying expectations and that their continued production could cause crude prices to slump again. U.S. producers say they have developed techniques to pump crude more quickly, and on drilling wells while holding off on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking until prices make operations more viable.

MORE...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/opec-warns-us-oil-boom-could-decline-by-year-end-1426508843

[Gman]

1. I haven't seen any posts about peak oil in a great while

I never did buy into it.

[MrNJ]

2. Is there any doubt that the amount of oil in this planet is finite and will eventually run out?

The question is when, not if.

Having said that, I welcome the lower oil prices.
It will hamper the ability of some international aggressors such as Russia to finance its war effort.

What sucks is that the people will again start buying Ford EXcrement and Chevy dick-extension SUVs

[Gman]

3. Obviously.

The trend is usually for bigger vehicles with cheaper gas. But considering people don't make the money they did before the Great Recession, I, for one, don't expect bigger cars. At least not for the next year or so. If cheap gas continues, then we may see them. All the sooner to get to peak oil, I guess.

[CANDO]

4. It is a finite resource...

The PEAK oil discussions on her 10-12 years ago couldn't and didn't foresee the development of fracking technology of the past 6-7 years. Fracking has enabled energy companies to reach far beneath the earth's surface and extract previously out of reach oil and gas deposits. That is what has led to less talk of PEAK oil. But there should be no doubt that with a finite resource, you're eventually running out of it.