Azerbaijan, Baku, May 3 / Trend A.Badalova/
Global market feels no oil shortage, and producers are able to meet consumer's needs, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri said at the 13th International Oil Summit in Paris on Thursday. His speech is published by OPEC official website.
"There has been, and there remains, more than enough supply to meet demand. We also see this as the case for the rest of 2012 and the foreseeable future," El-Badri said.
According to El-Badri, today's oil price levels continue to be driven by excessive speculation and it is essential to mitigate this.
"Trading is being made on the perception of a supply shortage, rather than evidence of any actual or impending shortfall," he said.
He stressed that the disruptions in Syria, South Sudan, the Yemen and the North Sea this year have had minimal impact on the market, because they have been more than offset by the quick resumption of Libyan production, which is now around pre-war levels of 1.5 million barrels a day.
Oil prices fell Wednesday on concerns of a weakening European economy and disappointing job growth in the U.S, Bloomberg reported. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude gave up 86 cents to $105.30 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which helps set the price of oil imported into the U.S., lost $1.35 to $118.31 per barrel in London.
According to El-Badri, demand for the OPEC oil in 2012 is projected at average 30 million barrels a day.
Global oil demand is forecasted to grow by around 900,000 barrels a day in 2012, non-OPEC supply is expected to increase by 600,000 barrels a day in 2012, he said.