Oil wells in a California field.Peter Bennett (Universal Images Group via Getty)
OPEC expects omicron, the new variant of the coronavirus, to have a "mild" and "short-lived" impact on the world economy, thus keeping its forecast on the recovery of oil consumption unchanged.
In its monthly report on the evolution of the world oil market, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), based in Vienna, confirmed on Monday its expectation that the demand for crude oil will have fully recovered the levels of before the pandemic in the second half of 2022.
"World oil demand remains unchanged compared to last month's assessment", both that of 2021, estimated at an average of 96.44 million barrels per day (mbd), and that of next year, of 100.79 mbd, according to the document.
OPEC experts have made some adjustments to their consumption forecasts due to the ups and downs caused in the transport sector due to the measures against the pandemic.
However, these revisions paid off each other.
The estimate for oil consumption in the first half of 2021, for example, was corrected upward due to "better-than-anticipated fuel consumption for transportation" in industrialized nations.
This increase has been offset by the drop in data from last quarter, which was necessary due to the increase in covid-19 cases and lower industrial production in China, among other factors.
The report's authors also adjusted demand downward in the last three months of this year to take into account COVID-19 containment measures in Europe and the potential impact of the new omicron variant.
However, "part of the recovery that was expected" for that period now moves to the first quarter of 2022, "followed by a more constant recovery throughout the year," they explain.
