Baku, Azerbaijan, June 13
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts Brent spot prices will average $71 per barrel in 2018 and $68 per barrel in 2019, EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
“The 2019 forecast price is $2 per barrel higher than in the May STEO. EIA expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices will average almost $7 per barrel lower than Brent prices in 2018 and $6 per barrel lower than Brent prices in 2019,” said the report.
Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $77 per barrel in May, an increase of $5 per barrel from the April level and the highest monthly average price since November 2014, according to EIA estimates.
“Prices increased in May as crude oil production declined for several members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Venezuela and Nigeria, and as markets accounted for the uncertainty surrounding Iran’s future crude oil production levels,” said the report.
EIA said that in early May, the United States announced it would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reinstitute sanctions on companies doing business with Iran. “Even though essentially no US companies are directly involved with Iranian companies, many European and Asian banks, insurers, and oil companies announced they might reduce commercial activity with Iran in light of potential US sanctions.”
Sanctions will likely have a direct effect on the Iranian oil sector, which would limit crude oil exports and production from the country by the end of 2018, according to the report.
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