OPEC is predicting a more balanced oil market in 2016, as growth of North American shale slows, according to news site Reuters.
Opec has also pointed to increased demand from China and India as mitigating factors as demand begins to catch up with supply.
In its monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it expected world oil demand to increase by 1.34 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, up from growth of 1.28 million bpd this year.
This would outpace the growth of oil supply from non-OPEC sources and ultra-light oils such as condensate, increasing demand for OPEC crude oil, it said.
“This would imply an improvement towards a more balanced market,” OPEC’s in-house economists said in the report.
OPEC said it expected demand for its own crude oil to rise by 860,000 bpd in 2016 to 30.07 million bpd. But it cut its estimate of demand for its crude this year by 100,000 bpd to 29.21 million bpd.
