10 October 2013
Petrodollars: The great global divergence
Opec is losing market share as North American supplies rise and global demand remains tepid
Both this year and in 2014, the call on the group’s crude is set to fall. Non-Opec production is behind this. Output growth of 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d) in 2013 and 1.6m b/d in 2014, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), will more than account for global demand rises of 990,000 b/d this year and 1.1m b/d next year. But don’t shed too many tears for Opec. Its net petro-income continues to soar – even while the fuel bill keeps mounting for the group’s clients in net-importing countries. Fatih Birol, the IEA’s chief economist, says Opec will trouser about $1.2 trillion in oil-export revenue this year, or about 50% more than in in 2007. In the same period, says Birol, Opec’s
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
