Brent crude oil prices will remain near current levels in the $60-a-barrel range through the fourth quarter, according to 42% of respondents in a Gulf Intelligence Survey conducted a week after the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. Meanwhile more than a third of those polled expect crude to average in the $70s over the next 3 months.
On Sept. 14, Saudi Arabia suffered the single-biggest strike to its oil infrastructure in the country’s history when critical processing facilities were hit by a series of drones and missiles that knocked out 5.7 million barrels a day of production capacity, which represented some 5% of global supply. Brent crude prices initially spiked to over $70 a barrel and then settled down over the following week to settle in the mid-$60s as the recovery of production commenced.Â
Still, some 20% of those polled in the Gulf Intelligence Survey of 100 energy industry executives believe prices will fall and average in the $50-a-barrel range during the final three months of the year because global economic growth is weakening and smothering demand.
