Iraqi oil minister forecasts rising crude prices from current ‘very low’ status

After attending a meeting with Arab petroleum exporting nations, Iraq’s Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said that crude prices are all set to rise from the current very low status.
Abdul Mahdi, whose country is the second-biggest producer in OPEC, didn’t forecast when prices would rebound from an almost seven-year low for Brent, the benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Al Sada remarked that there is no need to be pessimistic about oil prices.
Abdul Mahdi said, “There is no doubt that oil prices will rebound.” He also said, “This current level is too low, and it’s affecting oil producers. I think economic factors and fundamentals are still strong.”
A global oversupply of crude has triggered the worst slump in the energy business since the 2008 world financial crisis. Brent crude has tumbled 68 percent since June 19, 2014, as non-OPEC producers such as Russia and U.S. shale drillers boosted output.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, led the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in November last year to defend market share instead of cutting output to support prices.
Brent for February settlement slid as much as 83 cents to $36.05 a barrel Monday on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was at $36.13 at 12:55 p.m. local time. The contract dropped 18 cents to $36.88 on Friday, the lowest close since December 2008. Prices are down 37 percent this year and set for a third annual loss.
OAPEC was established in 1968 to foster the development of the petroleum industry in member states as part of an economic integration plan among Arab countries. Seven of the nations within OAPEC are also members of OPEC.