Consumers and businesses may get some relief from high fuel prices, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which, in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, has downgraded its expected price for benchmark WTI and Brent Crude futures by almost $2 for next year.
The EIA sees two factors at play. On the one hand, it expects to see greater production from the US and OPEC+ countries, while on the other hand, the imposition of mobility restrictions in response to COVID-19 outbreaks in many countries is likely to temper demand.
Overall, the IEA cut its predicted demand for liquid fuels and petroleum to 99.3 million barrels per day (bpd) and raised its estimation for supply to 100.93 million bpd, which would imply a modest surplus over the year. In terms of oil prices, the IEA predicts that WTI will sell for an average of $66.42 per barrel, while Brent Crude will sell for $70.05. Such predictions are subject to conditions remaining the same.
At its last meeting, the OPEC+ group agreed to keep its options open to quickly decrease production if the new Omicron coronavirus variant causes demand for oil to drop sharply.
Energy prices are likely to remain high for some time yet, however, and this makes efficiency improvements all the more valuable. Our specialist procurement team at TrAchem can help you with this by presenting options from various lubricant makers. For example, the Klüber Summit compressor oils claim to improve efficiency by up to 5% compared to lubricants based on mineral oil.
