OPEC’s Qatar says oil prices bottomed out, sees recovery in 2016

NAYLA RAZZOUK and NOUR AL ALI

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Global oil prices have bottomed out, with signs of a recovery seen in 2016, Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Al Sada said.

Growth in non-OPEC crude oil supply slowed “substantially” this year and is likely to remain flat or turn negative in the next, Al Sada said in an emailed statement on Sunday. “Call on OPEC oil is expected to become healthier,” to 30.5 MMbpd in 2016 from 29.3 MMbpd in 2015, he said, citing increasing demand from both developed and emerging markets.

Current low prices have “caused oil companies to reduce their capital expenditure by almost 20% this year from $650 billion in 2014,” he said. “This trend of reducing investment in the oil industry could result in production shortfalls down the line.”

Brent crude, a global pricing benchmark, slipped 8.2% this year and tumbled 41% in the last 12 months. The contract closed Friday at $52.65/bbl in London. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has exceeded its oil-output target of 30 MMbpd for 16 consecutive months. OPEC and non-OPEC officials are to meet at an expert level in Vienna later this month to discuss the market, Al Sada said.