OPEC maintains steady forecast for oil demand growth
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has maintained its global oil demand growth projection for 2026 at 1.4 million b/d.
IMAGE: OPEC's logo. Getty Images
OPEC has left its global oil demand forecast unchanged at 106.52 million b/d for the year, including about 46.06 million b/d from OECD economies.
OPEC has forecast oil demand from non-OECD countries to average around 60.46 million b/d this year – about 30,000 b/d higher than its January projection.
“Oil demand growth is expected to be supported by strong air travel demand and healthy road mobility,” OPEC said.
Global oil consumption in 2027 is expected to grow by about 1.3 million b/d, to average 107.9 million b/d – unchanged from OPEC’s previous projection.
OPEC has also maintained demand forecast for its crude at 43 million b/d for 2026. It expects demand for its crude to grow by 600,000 b/d to reach 43.6 million b/d next year.
Supply estimates
Total crude oil production by OPEC+ members averaged 42.5 million b/d last month, about 439,000 b/d lower than in December.
Oil production by OPEC+’s de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia, increased by 13,000 b/d in January to about 10.1 million b/d. The group’s second-largest producer Iraq increased production by 38,000 b/d to 4.2 million b/d during the same time.
In January, oil production in Iran, Russia and Kazakhstan fell by 81,000 b/d, 58,000 b/d and 249,000 b/d to about 3.1 million b/d, 9.2 million b/d and 1.3 million b/d respectively, OPEC said.
The Vienna-headquartered coalition has hiked its non-OPEC production growth forecast by 600,000 b/d, with output expected to average around 54.8 million b/d this year.
The OPEC+ coalition comprise of the core 12 OPEC member countries, along with Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia and Sudan.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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