Abuja (WorldStage Newsonline)-- The Organization of Petroleum Countries (OPEC) has said that it could earn about $230 billion from its new cumulative oil output by members by next year if the market remains upbeat.
OPEC’s upstream analyst, Ms. Amal Alawami, who disclosed this at the ongoing third Deepwater Offshore West Africa Conference (DOWAC) organised by Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Abuja, said the revenue would accrue from projected output range of 27.5-35.5 million barrels per day (mbd) of crude oil production aspired by the group.
Alawami, who represented OPEC Secretary General at the conference, said the demand security, which was needed to actualise the revenue generation, would be provided by industrialised and developing economies as the world continued to rely on petroleum fuels in the short and medium term.
She pointed out that the demand security was crucial to meeting the level of production capacity growth required by OPEC to deliver on its commitment in helping support global economic growth and sustainability.
According to her, massive investment was imperative if the oil producing countries would continue to supply adequate volume of crude oil that would address supply concerns, tame export prices and support economic growth aspirations of developing countries.
While arguing that the demand security would in turn provide the market incentive for producing countries to invest heavily in new capacity for supply sustainability, she declared: “No country is interested in building capacity that is not needed.”
With the recovering oil prices, Alawami said OPEC countries had started making significant discoveries in difficult and unconventional terrains, adding that growing demand from China and other developing countries would support investments in more oil.
She stressed that what was needed o strike the right balance between oil producers and consumers was stable and realistic oil prices that would sustain investments and also support economies to grow.
While stressing the role of market players in oil price volatility, the OPEC analyst blamed unrealistic price hikes that were not supported by real fundamentals on speculators that post gloomy pictures of supply prospects.
She said OPEC countries were trying to strike liaison with other regulators to examine the impact of market operators on oil prices.
