Global oil demand will be slightly lower than forecast this year in the wake of strict Covid lockdowns in China, the world's biggest importer of crude, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Russian oil supply, meanwhile, is expected to continue to fall in April by 1.5 million barrels per day amid its invasion of Ukraine, according to the IEA, which advises developed countries on their energy policies.

But increased output from the OPEC+ group of oil producing countries and stock releases from the United States and other IEA members "should prevent a sharp deficit from developing," said the agency in a monthly report.

Rich countries have agreed to tap an additional 120 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves, with half from the United States, in a bid to calm crude prices that have soared following Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Prices fell below $100 in recent days as severe lockdowns in Shanghai raised concerns that crude demand from China would fall, only to rebound after officials eased restrictions in some neighbourhoods of the country's biggest city.

"Severe new lockdown measures amid surging Covid cases in China have led to a downward revision in our expectations for global oil demand" in the second quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole, the IEA said.

Weaker-than-expected demand in countries of the OECD -- a group of mostly developed nations -- added to the decline, the Paris-based agency said.

The IEA said it now expects demand to average 99.4 million barrels per day in 2022, 260,000 barrels per day lower than previously estimated, though it will still be higher than last year by 1.9 million barrels.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

As EU eyes stopping Russian gas imports, Israel sees an opening
Paris (AFP) Apr 12, 2022
As Europe aims to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel because of the Ukraine invasion, Israel hopes to help fill the gap with gas from its offshore reserves. EU states remain divided on the time scale, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the bloc hopes to phase out its dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal by 2027. Israel could build one or more pipelines, potentially via Greece or Turkey, or increase the quantity of gas piped to Egypt to be liquified and shippe ... read more