London: Opec expects the world will need more of its crude oil this year than previously forecast, as the organisation lowered its outlook for production of natural gas liquids.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, responsible for 40 per cent of global supplies, predicted in a monthly report on Wednesday that consumers worldwide will need 28.75 million barrels a day of Opec crude in 2010.
While that's 150,000 barrels a day more than anticipated in last month's report, the resulting "call on Opec" is unchanged from last year.
"Required demand for Opec crude is forecast to remain almost at the same level as last year, following two consecutive annual declines," the group's Vienna-based secretariat said in the report. "World oil demand and non-Opec supply remained almost unchanged" while "Opec NGLs experienced a downward revision."
Opec, next scheduled to meet on March 17 in Vienna, left its forecast for worldwide oil consumption in 2010 at 85.12 million barrels a day, which equates to growth from last year of 800,000 barrels a day. The group's implementation of a record supply cut announced in 2008 slipped to 53 per cent as oil prices around $70 (Dh257) a barrel encouraged members to exceed their quotas.
Opec Secretary-General Abdullah Al Badri told reporters in London on February 2 that if market conditions change little and prices stay in their current range, then ministers will be "reluctant" to alter their production target at next month's gathering.
"The global recovery is proceeding apace, led by manufacturing, but the strength of the upturn in 2010 is still uncertain and regionally uneven," Opec said in the report.
Natural gas liquids, which can be made into fuels of petrochemical feedstocks, aren't included in the organisation's supply quota of 24.845 million barrels a day. Opec production of NGLs will grow 510,000 barrels a day this year to 5.1 million per day.
Opec trimmed its outlook for supplies from outside the organisation in 2010 by 33,000 barrels a day. Non-Opec producers will provide 51.28 million barrels a day in 2010, or 330,000 barrels a day more than last year, according to the group.
The International Energy Agency, which advises oil- consuming nations, will release its own monthly report on Thursday.
Opec's 12 members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is exempt from the quota system.
