Industry at a glance

	Vol. 229 No.6

Global oil supply continued to fall in April, dropping by 530,000 bopd to 86.11 million bpd on North Sea outages, lower FSU output and weaker OPEC supplies. IEA has lowered its global oil demand forecast for both 2007 and 2008, to 85.8 million bpd (up 1.1% from the previous year) and 86.8 million bpd (up 1.0%) respectively. OPEC supply averaged 36.8 million bpd, 255,000 bpd below March. Indonesia is considering withdrawing from OPEC since the nation’s production has fallen. Meanwhile, Brazil recently announced its plans to bring the potentially massive Carioca Field onstream in 2010 and has express interest in joining OPEC.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil spot prices increased from $101 to $120 per barrel over the first three weeks of April, averaging out at $112.58 per barrel for the month. Oil prices have continued to steadily increase in May, reaching as high as $133 per barrel as of this printing.