The US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday boosted its Brent and WTI crude oil price forecasts on uncertainty over the impact of the looming re-imposition of US sanctions on Iranian crude exports.
In its Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA forecast Brent to average $74.43/b in 2018, up $1.59 from last month’s forecast, and WTI at $69.56/b in 2018, up $2.53 from last month.
The agency forecasts Brent to average $75.06/b and WTI to average $69.56/b in 2019, up $1.38 and $2.20, respectively, from last month’s forecast.
Total OPEC oil production is expected to average 32.46 million b/d in 2018, down 220,000 b/d from 2017, EIA said. Total OPEC oil production is expected to continue to fall to 32.14 million b/d in 2019, EIA said.
EIA Wednesday also raised its forecast for US oil output, which it said will average 10.74 million b/d in 2018 and 11.76 million b/d in 2019. Those forecasts were up 80,000 b/d and 260,000 b/d, respectively, from last month’s forecast. EIA expects that US oil production, which exceeded 11 million b/d in August, will exceed 12 million b/d by October 2019.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News