Brent crude prices, the benchmark for half the worlds oil, will weaken for a second year in 2014 as U.S. output expands and threats to Middle East and North African supply ease, the most-accurate forecasters said.Prices will average $105 a barrel in 2014, from $108.71 in 2013, according to the median of estimates from the seven analysts who most accurately predicted this years level in a survey last December. Brent averaged $111.68 in 2012.
Global supply is expanding as the U.S. pumps oil trapped in shale-rock formations, driving domestic output to the highest in a quarter century and curbing demand for the crude priced off Brent.Iran,Iraqand Libya will also produce more in 2014, the forecasters said. While a second annual drop for Brent would be the first consecutive retreat since 1998, prices are still about 39 percent higher than the average over the past decade.
Were expecting a surplus, said David Bouckhout, the senior commodity strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank in Calgary who was jointly the most accurate forecaster. North American supply growth is going to remain robust and cover the expected increase in demand. The biggest concern for 2014 on the supply side is going to be Iran, while Iraq is another producer that certainly wants to see its production grow.
Brent Decline
Brent for February settlement rose as much as 46 cents to $112.64 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe exchange inLondonafter closing at $112.18 on Dec. 27. Its set for an annual advance of 1 percent. Hedge funds and other speculators have cut bets on higher prices for two consecutive weeks and to the second-smallest bullish position this year, bourse data show.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was little changed today after settling at $100.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Dec. 27. The grade is poised for an annual gain of 9.2 percent. The spread between WTI and Brent averaged $10.67 this year, compared with $3.93 over the past decade. The widening gap reflects an abundance of U.S. supply at a time of disrupted exports from Iran, Iraq and Libya.
The three most-accurate forecasters from last years survey were Christin Tuxen, a senior analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen, Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AG in Oslo, and Toronto-Dominions Bouckhout.
Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale SA in New York, ranked fourth. Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America Corp. in New York, Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, and Jochen Hitzfeld, an analyst at UniCredit SpA in Munich, were joint fifth.
Exporting Countries
Expansions in supply from producers outside the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will more than cover the gain in global demand in 2014, according to the International Energy Agency. Daily non-OPEC output will rise by 1.7 million barrels as worldwide consumption adds 1.2 million barrels, the Paris-based adviser to oil-consuming nations says.
The U.S. will lead the gains as it taps shale reserves in North Dakota andTexas, the IEA said in a Dec. 11 report. Iraq plans more exports next year as part of its long-term strategy to triple production, Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said Dec. 3. Iran will increase output if international sanctions are eased, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the same day. Libya will reopen export terminals closed by protests, Oil Minister Abdulbari al-Arusi said Dec. 21.
Expanding supply from Libya, Iran and Iraq is a tail risk rather than a probable outcome, said Societe GeneralesWittner, the most bullish of the top seven analysts. Libya will remain an unreliable source of supply, higher output from Iran wont materialize until later in the year and Iraq has repeatedly missed its expansion targets, he said. Wittner anticipates an average price of $108.
Nuclear Program
U.S. PresidentBarack Obama, speaking inWashingtonon Dec. 7, assessed the chances of a comprehensive deal on Irans nuclear program as no better than 50-50. The nation, once OPECs second-biggest member, is producing about 930,000 barrels a day less than at the start of 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Libyan production is close to the lowest level since the uprising that unseated Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 as armed groups blockade eastern ports, oil ministry data showed Dec. 23. Iraqs production of 3.1 million barrels a day in November was 7 percent lower than a year earlier amid attacks on pipelines and a dispute with leaders in the countrys Kurdish region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
A supply glut will be averted because Saudi Arabia, the biggest member of OPEC, will curb output if needed, Societe Generales Wittner said. The kingdoms daily production swung from 8.75 million to 10.25 million barrels over the past several years, he said.
Beat Expectations
Oil demand may exceed analysts expectations next year as the U.S. economy strengthens, said Bjarne Schieldrop, the chief commodities analyst at SEB AB in Oslo. The global economy will expand 3.6 percent in 2014, from 2.9 percent in 2013, the International Monetary Fund said in a report in October.
Demand has clear upside potential, SEBs Schieldrop said. Oil prices should be set to stay around the $108 to $109 level seen this year, rather than set for a really bearish development.
U.S.crude productionsurged to a 25-year high of 8.11 million barrels a day in the week ended Dec. 20, government data show. Thats the highest level since September 1988.
Iraq Ambitions
Iraq plans to export an average of 3.4 million barrels daily in 2014, Oil Minister al-Luaibi said Dec. 3. Shipments were 2.38 million barrels a day in November, the ministry said this month. The country has said it wants to produce 9 million barrels a day by the end of the decade.
Libya will consider armed force to reopen eastern ports closed by a blockade, Ajwa Leblad News cited Oil Minister Al-Arusi as saying Dec. 16. Production in the holder ofAfricas largest oil reserves has dwindled to 210,000 barrels a day, as of November, from this years peak of 1.4 million barrels in March, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
Iran may be able to boost oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day following an agreement on Nov. 24 that eased some sanctions in exchange for a pause in the countrys nuclear program, Toronto Dominions Bouckhout said. That might expand should Iran reach a wider deal with world powers, he said. The country shipped 850,000 barrels a day in November, according to the IEA.
Irans improved relations with western governments may make Saudi Arabia, its regional rival, more reluctant to act as the swing producer, said Danske Banks Tuxen. OPEC may then be divided over who should cut to restore the balance between supply and demand, driving prices lower, she said.
The Saudis will continue to add to an oversupplied market, Tuxen said. We see them cutting supplies slightly, but not enough to make up for the production increases we see elsewhere, especially in light of the Iranian-U.S. deal. They can actually deal with an oil price that falls somewhat below $100 and still be fairly well-off.
By Bloomberg
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