The Oil Drum

OPEC's Oil Expansion Plans May Be Delayed Due to `Rig Shortage'
May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Oil expansion plans by members of OPEC, which pumps 40 percent of the world's oil, may be delayed because of a shortage of drilling rigs, Qatar's energy minister said.

``We see that there are big shortages in rig providers because of the huge demand, so these logistical problems are delaying some projects,'' Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said in an interview in the Jordanian capital Amman, where ministers from the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries are meeting.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has kept its official quotas unchanged at 28 million barrels a day for 10 months as some members including Saudi Arabia pump more than their allotment to make up for members such as Venezuela and Nigeria, which aren't meeting their share.

The group's next policy-setting meeting is on June 1 in Caracas.

Qatar's oil minister said prices around $70 a barrel may slow global economic growth and demand for crude oil.

The International Energy Agency last week lowered its estimate for crude demand by 200,000 barrels a day to 84.83 million barrels a day, reducing this year's growth to 1.5 percent.

Al-Attiyah said that oil producers are already over-supplying the market, with as much as 2 million barrels a day ``floating'' around in search of a home.

double speak ?

I would like to know where 2 million barrels a day are floating around. If this goes on since a month, there are 60 million barrels floating around ? Anyone who saw some these days ?

P.S thanks to RR for explaining argonne acounting rules. I can now tell my wife she shouldn't feel cold when its 20°C at home because 68°(F) is >> 20° :-).