Global oil supply falls in March 2019

By Gulsen Cagatay

ANKARA (AA) - Global oil supply has decreased in March 2019 by 0.14 million barrels per day (mb/d) month on month (m-o-m) to average 99.26 mb/d, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed on Wednesday.

OPEC's monthly oil market report said that for March 2019, OPEC crude oil production decreased by 534,000 b/d to average 30.02 mb/d, according to secondary sources.

However, non-OPEC supply, including OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs), increased by 0.39 mb/d m-o-m to average 69.24 mb/d, up by 2.67 mb/d year y-o-y.

According to OPEC's report, the share of OPEC crude oil in total global production declined by 0.5% m-o-m to 30.2% in March 2019.

Furthermore, the report affirmed that in 2019, demand for OPEC crude is forecast at 30.3 mb/d, around 1.1 mb/d lower than the estimated 2018 level.

"Global oil demand in 2019 is revised downward by 30 thousand b/d from 1.24 mb/d to around 1.21 mb/d compared with last month’s projection, and this is due to slower-than-expected economic activity compared with the expectations of a month earlier. As a result, total world demand for the year is now expected to reach 99.91 mb/d and exceed the 100 mb/d threshold during the second half of 2019," the report showed.

According to the report, total non-OPEC supply in 2019 is now forecast to average 64.54 mb/d, with the U.S., Brazil, the U.K., Australia and Ghana being the major contributors to growth, while Mexico, Kazakhstan, Norway, Indonesia and Vietnam are projected to see the largest declines.

"The global economic growth projection remains estimated at 3.6% for 2018, while for 2019 it is revised slightly downward to 3.2% from the 3.3% projected last month. The main downward revisions are made for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development economies," OPEC stated.