I have been told by many folks that I am an optimist. I believe in good, old fashioned hope that things are looking up.
Oil prices are supporting my optimism. Today, both WTI and Brent reportedly marked their highest futures settlements since June 9.
Although there was disappointment earlier in the week about the less than expected reduction in crude stockpiles and an article yesterday in Forbes discussed how geopolitical uncertainties for oil are increasing, the price of Brent Crude has reclaimed the $50 level (according to Bloomberg Energy) and reportedly ended at a 2-week high. WTI closed slightly down at $48.85 per barrel according to Bloomberg Energy.
As the Forbes article notes, it is no secret that oil production and supply and demand are global issues.
Enter OPEC and the ASB...
What is the ASB?
The "ASB" is the Annual Statistical Bulletin published by OPEC since 1965. According to OPEC's Secretary General, "[t]he primary purpose of the ASB is to make reliable data about the global oil and gas industry easily and publically available." The ASB focuses on OPEC's 13 Member Countries (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela) and their national oil companies and also provides statistical data about non-OPEC oil producing countries.
You can hit the highlights of the recent ASB here – including:
- Global demand (large demand increases in India and China; decline in Latin America for the first time since 2003)
- World proven crude oil reserves at 1,493 billion barrels in 2015
- World refinery capacity expanding
The ASB also reportedly showed that OPEC's oil revenue plunged by $438 billion to a 10-year low last year, with OPEC earning $518.2 billion in 2015 from the sale of crude and refined fuels – reportedly the lowest figure since 2005.
Why is the ASB important?
I read the ASB's summaries and charts with optimism. Granted, past volatility in commodity prices is apparent in the text, but so is the central theme of good old fashioned hope that things are looking up.
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