Opec expects oil demand to partially recover next year and grow by about 7 million barrels a day, the group said in its latest monthly market outlook.
Total demand for hydrocarbon-based liquids is projected to reach 97.7 million bpd next year.
However, the demand for oil will remain below pre-coronavirus levels.
It is expected fall by 8.9 million bpd this year, after Opec revised its earlier estimate by 100,000 bpd.
The revision reflected “slightly better-than-expected oil demand from the OECD region in the second quarter of 2020, which more than offset downward adjustments to non-OECD oil demand during the same quarter”, Opec said.
The Opec+ alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is expected to consider increasing output at the group’s ministerial monitoring committee meeting on Wednesday.
The group is cutting output by 9.7 million bpd to reduce oil stocks and support an industry affected by a record fall in demand and prices due to the pandemic. The alliance is expected to ease its curbs by the end of the month.
Opec+ laggards Nigeria and Iraq yesterday pledged to fully comply with the curbs in the coming months.
In a phone conversation with Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva said the West African producer had not yet met the terms of the agreement, according to a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The country will raise its compliance levels from this month up to September to compensate for producing above its quota in May and June.
“Saudi Arabia and Nigeria reiterate their firm commitment to the Opec+ agreement and to the level of production cuts to reduce output,” the two countries said.
Iraq's new oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail also vowed to make additional cuts until September after the country exceeded its quota in the same period.
The group last month extended its two-month agreement to cut 9.7 million bpd until the end of July.
Opec+ is expected to maintain the cuts until April 2022, with tapered restrictions set to begin from next month.
The alliance could increase supply by more than 2 million bpd in August, said Edward Bell, senior director for market economics at Emirates NBD.
“We have assumed that Opec+ countries stick to their targets fully for 2020 to 2021 and the increase in levels won’t be enough to push the market into surplus, provided demand recovers as strongly as the [International Energy Agency] assumes,” he said.
The agency said it expects the collapse in oil demand to slow down in the second half. In its latest oil market outlook, the agency said overall demand for this year would be about 92.1 million bpd, with the pace of decline slowing to 5.1 million bpd in the second half. It also projected tighter supply conditions for the rest of the year.
A supply deficit is expected to be caused by production shut-ins around the world, notably in the shale basins of North America, and curbs being enforced by the Opec+ alliance.
Jasper Lawler, head of economics at the London Capital Group, said Opec+ could ease production cuts by 20 per cent during its meeting on Wednesday.
“Demand is coming back, and some oil production should come back with it,” he said.
Higher supply could be “price negative” in theory, but in this scenario, it could probably be a positive, he said.
“Now that the market expects the cuts to be eased, it would display a lack of confidence from Opec in the demand outlook if they extended the current quotas.”
Oil prices, which are currently at four-month highs, fell for a second consecutive day on the news of a possible supply increase from Opec and allied producers.
Brent, the commodity benchmark under which two thirds of the world’s oil trades, fell by 1.59 per cent to $42.04 per barrel at 5.12pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude, fell by 2.07 per cent to $39.27 per barrel.
Global oil demand is “on the mend”, said Bank of America Securities in a research note.
“Demand is improving rapidly, especially in driving mobility, as countries around the world are rapidly easing their lockdowns and road traffic is somewhat normalising,” the bank said.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
MATCH INFO
FA Cup fifth round
Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered
Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered
Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
Favourite singer: Adele
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
First-round leaderbaord
-5 C Conners (Can)
-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);
-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)
Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)
Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng)
1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)
3 R McIlroy (NI)
4 D Johnson (US)
The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5
Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder / 3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
