960405

1996 oil supply

gains to outpace

demand: IEA

LONDON: Frigid temperatures on both sides of the Atlantic pushed global oil demand in the first three month of the year a whopping 1.7 million barrel per day (bpd) over 1995 levels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

In its end-March oil market report, the Paris-based agency said the world's thirst for oil rose to 72.6 million bpd, 200,000 bpd over its month-earlier forecast.

As a result, the West's energy watchdog revised up by 0.1 million bpd its 1996 world oil demand forecast to 71.7 million bpd, up 1.7 million bpd from 1995 but it kept unchanged its prediction for second quarter demand at 69.9 million bpd.

However, oil producers in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will receive little comfort from the upward revisions since the IEA also revised up by 0.2 million bod its forecasts for non-OPEC oil supply.

The agency now sees oil production from countries outside OPEC rising by a sharp 1.9 million bpd this year to a record 44 million bpd.

Though the IEA does not forecast OPEC output, it said the 12-member cartel inched production higher last month to top 26.1 million bpd, up from 26.01 million bpd in February.

As a result, it revised down by 0.2 million bpd to 23.8 million bpd its forecast for second quarter demand for OPEC oil plus stock change.-Reuter