Looking ahead: IEA director Nobuo Tanaka
IEA warns of looming supply crunch
The International Energy Agency (IEA) today warned there could be an oil market supply crunch from next year once global oil demand begins to recover.
IEA's executive director Nobuo Tanaka told reporters said on the sidelines of a conference in London that he expected world oil demand to resume growth from next year, rising by about 1 million barrels per day in 2010.
"Currently the demand is very low due to the very bad economic situation but when the economy starts growing, recovery comes again in 2010 and then onward, we may have another serious supply crunch if capital investment is not coming," Reuters quoted him as saying.
He urged Opec not to seek rapid rises in oil prices through further supply cuts.
Asked about the prospect of another Opec production cut at the group's meeting in Vienna on 15 March, Tanaka said:
"If Opec is aiming at a rapid price increase by cutting supply, maybe it would not be a good thing for the global economic recovery."
"The lower price helps the global economic recovery."