Wealth Monitor April 2016 | Page 31

ENERGY | Rebound Crude Oil Price Over The Current Year ($/bbl) 41.12 37.9 36.76 36.34 33.62 31.41 30.02 4-Jan 32.19 11-Jan 18-Jan 22-Jan 29.69 29-Jan 8-Feb barrels a day of crude from Iraqi Kurdistan for the past two weeks, with reports suggesting the line may not be back until the March end. The leakage in the pipeline of Nigeria Royal Dutch Shale Company has been described as ‘force majeure’ and the production of daily 250,000 barrels Forcados crude has been suspended. Nobody knows when this production would resume. Brent crude may witness monthly price increase, first time since October, as 850,000 barrels per day production of above two countries would be out of the market which constitutes less than 1% of the total global demand. Talks are being held between Russia, the biggest exporter country outside OPEC cartel and Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producing country in the OPEC to reach at an agreement for production freeze, though it is yet to win the support of all OPEC members. During a major industry gathering in Houston last month Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, ruled out the possibility of cutting output, damping hopes of more aggressive action to curb a glut estimated by some traders to be as large as 2m b/d. However, Eulogio Del Pino, Venezuela’s oil minister said that Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia will hold a meeting in March to discuss efforts to stab