Oil price remains volatile for foreseeable future
Oil price volatility ‘is here to stay,’ say energy company execs
Crude markets will continue to be plagued by volatility in the short and medium term after suffering the biggest downturn in a generation over the past two years, according to oil company executives gathering for one of the industry’s biggest conferences in Norway.
“The volatility is here to stay,” ConocoPhillips chief executive Ryan Lance said on the sidelines of the ONS Conference in Stavanger on Monday. Market rebalancing “will extend into 2017. The inventory levels are still quite high.”
The industry remains on guard as oil entered a bull market Aug. 18, less than three weeks after tumbling into a bear market. Prices have gained 18 per cent in the past four weeks on speculation OPEC nations and other producers could agree to cap output at a meeting in Algeria next month. While markets are expected to rebalance as they gradually absorb a glut of crude stocks, analysts differ over the timing.
