Vitol CEO predicts slight decline in US oil production this year due lower prices
He said that the lower oil prices will lead to a slight decrease in U.S. production of oil this year.
"We're starting to see an impact on production and investment with slightly lower prices." Russell Hardy, speaking at the Energy Asia Conference, said that the U.S. shale oil industry is the most obvious example.
He added that the lower investment and production are not a major concern, as OPEC, and other countries have a large amount of extra capacity.
According to sources, OPEC+ is planning to increase oil production more quickly than originally planned in May June and July to compete with U.S. shale to regain market share.
Hardy expressed his concern over the conflict in the Middle East. He added that this is an uncertain period, but said the oil demand was increasing.
The price of benchmark oil has been volatile due to fears that the conflict between Israel and Iran could intensify, disrupting supply in the Middle East region.
Israel and Iran have been attacking each other for the fifth day in a row on Tuesday. U.S. president Donald Trump has urged Iranians, citing their rejection of an agreement to curb nuclear weapon development, to leave Tehran. (Reporting and writing by Florence Tan, Sudarshan Varadhan and Emily Chow. Editing and proofreading by Himani Sakar and Jamie Freed.)
(source: Reuters)
