Benjamin Umuteme
Brent Crude prices are expected to trade between $60 and $70 a barrel by the second half 2019, unless a sharp global economic slowdown mars the outlook for global oil demand, energy experts have said.
According to the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) in its latest energy research, concerns about global economy, rising production in the three biggest oil producers—the U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia—and a drop in sentiment may likely determine the price of the commodity.
It will be recalled that following a four-year highs of $85 Brent Crude in October, the international benchmark slumped to just $54 at the end of 2018, but picked up to close at $60 on Wednesday.
APICORP), a multilateral development bank set up in 1975 under an agreement signed by the ten member States of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).
The collective production cut of 1.2 million bpd from OPEC and its Russia-led non-OPEC partners in the deal might not be enough, the energy investment agency warned noting that “The dynamics of oil prices in 2019 will also depend in large part on OPEC’s effectiveness in implementing the cuts, balancing the market and reinforcing the credibility of its signals.”
“While OPEC is expected to cut its output in 2019 in an attempt to balance the market, US production should maintain its upward momentum,” the bank said.
There have been fears in Nigeria over the fall in the price of crude to about $45 per barrel after the 2019 budget proposal by the Presidency put the benchmark for oil at $60.
