Thursday, May 22, 2008

IEA: Better rethink that Certified Pre-Owned H2.

MarketWatch: Report: IEA set to cut oil-supply forecast.

Quotes:

The Paris-based International Energy Agency is getting ready to issue a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply forecast, according to a published report.

A story in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal early Thursday reported IEA's forecast revision signals growing pessimism about whether oil companies can keep abreast of booming demand.

The Journal reported the IEA is attempting to assess the condition of the world's top 400 oil fields. Its findings won't be released until November, but it is clear that future crude supplies could be far tighter than previously thought, the report notes.

The IEA has predicted previously that supplies of crude and other liquid fuels will keep pace with rising demand, topping 116 million barrels a day by 2030, up from around 87 million barrels a day currently, according to the report, which added that the agency now is concerned that aging oil fields and diminished investment mean that companies could struggle to surpass 100 million barrels a day over the next two decades.

The decision to rigorously survey supply reflects an increasing fear within the agency and elsewhere that oil-producing regions aren't on track to meet future needs, according to the Journal.

The report quotes Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist and the leader of the study, as saying "the oil investments required may be much, much higher than what people assume. This is a dangerous situation."