Oil prices have traded above $60 per barrel for most of 2025 with analysts predicting a decline in 2026.
Global oil glut predictions are seriously exaggerated as demand growth remains strong and global oil stocks are depleted, Amin Nasser, chief executive of Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, said on Thursday.
Oil prices have traded above $60 per barrel for most of 2025 with analysts predicting a decline in 2026 as they expect global supply to exceed demand by a big margin due to production growth from the United States, OPEC+ and other producers.
Demand growth remains strong in emerging economies followed by China and the United States with total demand reaching record levels last year and rising again this year, Nasser told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“Oil glut predictions are seriously exaggerated… Oil stocks are low across the world on a five-year average and barrels offshore are mostly sanctioned barrels,” he said.
The world is also short of spare oil capacity or unused oil production that countries can activate in case of an emergency to avert price spikes.
“It (spare capacity) is at 2.5% and we need a minimum of 3%. If OPEC+ further unwinds cuts, spare capacity will fall even further and we will need to watch this very carefully,” said Nasser.
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