IEA head expects oil supply glut in H1, Irag biggest worry

DAVOS, Jan 23 (PRIME) – There will be an oil supply excess of at least 1 million barrel per day in January–June with Iraq being the main cause of worry 2020, head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol told PRIME on Thursday.

“When I look at the first half of this year, I see excessive supply of about 1 million barrel of oil per day, taking into account the reductions which were already agreed upon (in the framework of an OPEC plus nonmember deal),” Birol said

He called the U.S., Brazil and Norway the main contributors to production growth.

Birol also said that escalation in the Middle East and the situation in Iraq are causing concern. “I hope Iraq would have a stable political future, otherwise this can have a serious effect on the prospects of production of 5 million barrels of oil per day,” he said.

The official said that oil prices would not grow strongly in 2020 in the absence of large geopolitical incidents.

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