THE oil industry welcomed the start of a new year a lot more upbeat than a year ago, with recovering crude oil prices over 80 per cent higher than in the corresponding 2016 period.
Although there were doubts that OPEC and other nations would fully follow through on agreed cutbacks to further stimulate the price of oil, crude started the week on January 16 with Brent trading at US$55, US West Texas US$52 and Tapis at US$56.
While rising US oil production was putting a brake on crude prices climbing further, the oil and gas industry was enjoying a period of relative stability – aspiring towards the US$60 ceiling which many exploration companies hope it will settle at for a significant period to stimulate a healthy recovery in the sector.
Current US production is at 8.95 million barrels per day, back to similar levels in 2014 when OPEC began its price war against US shale producers, sending prices into freefall and high cost producers into virtual paralysis.
Global investment company Goldman Sachs has forecast that US oil production will rise by 235,000 barrels per day in 2017.
