BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The path towards sustained oil demand recovery remains fragile and uncertain due to the emergence of new COVID-19 variants that trigger fresh waves of lock-downs, Trend reports with reference to Malaysian Petronas company.
“As the world reopens and economic activities resuming, the global economy is staging its most robust post-recession rebound with speedy recovery seen across countries and sectors. A pervasive roll-out of vaccines in 2021 provided support to the recovery of road transport fuels amid pent-up traveling demand. However, the aviation sector is only expected to return to pre-pandemic level by 2024,” the company said.
Petronas notes that while most industry players are optimistic with the economic recovery, they still remain cautious.
“Thus, the smarter approach would be to strengthen efforts collectively and be ready to face the oil price volatility. The energy crisis that unfolded in 2021 led to gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prices surging to a record high. Asian spot LNG prices soared above US$50/MMBtu, a historic high, due to factors including higher demand as economies re-open, rising competition for gas between Europe and Asia, a hotter summer and colder winter, as well as a coal crunch in China which led to a spike in demand for gas,” said the company.
Petronas notes that the LNG spot prices in the coming years are also expected to experience volatility due to the weather pattern and also potential change in policy, altering the supply-demand dynamics. This underscores the need for continuous investments in the energy sector to ensure reliable and sustainable supply of energy in an equitable manner.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn