據彭博社8月1日報道，從歐洲平靜的天空到美國大城市稀疏的交通，全球石油需求的復蘇在冠狀病毒的死灰復燃中步履蹣跚。這對歐佩克及其合作伙伴構成了一個特別微妙的挑戰，它們計劃在下周恢復一些在疫情最嚴重時停止的部分原油產量。

盡管在成功提振油價后，歐佩克迫切希望增加石油銷售，但全球經濟的反復意味著，額外供應正處于一個脆弱的時刻，并可能導致市場再次走向低迷。

市場情報公司Kpler SAS的研究主管亞歷克斯?布斯(Alex Booth)表示:“就增產范圍而言，我們處于相當微妙的平衡狀態。你必須對需求復蘇持相當樂觀的看法，才能證明需求大幅增長是合理的。”

以俄羅斯和沙特阿拉伯為首的歐佩克+聯盟，在春季需求驟減時，創紀錄地減產970萬桶日產量，約占全球供應量的10%。該組織打算在下個月重新開始生產約150萬桶/天的石油。

從理論上講，由23個國家組成的聯盟稍微打開一點“水龍頭”是合理的。國際原油價格從4月底的低點上漲了近兩倍，布倫特原油期貨價格升至每桶43美元。這為依賴能源銷售為政府支出融資的國家以及埃克森美孚(Exxon Mobil Corp .)和英國石油(BP Plc.)等公司提供了一條救生索。

總部位于奧斯陸的咨詢公司Rystad Energy 的數據顯示，全球石油市場在經歷了數月的過剩之后，已轉向供應不足，7月份的日需求量比供給量高出約200萬桶。這在一定程度上減少了今年上半年積壓的庫存。

總部位于巴黎的國際能源署(IEA）表示，即便歐佩克+恢復生產，本季度的庫存降幅可能會是第二季度的兩倍，平均為440萬桶/天。

然而，有跡象表明，市場趨緊的勢頭正開始減弱。國際能源署總干事法提赫?比羅爾(Fatih Birol)在接受采訪時表示:“市場正在逐漸復蘇，但存在兩大不確定因素。一個是全球經濟復蘇的情況，以及一些關鍵領域的情況。第二個問題是我們是否會看到第二波冠狀病毒疫情。”

今年第二季度，美國經濟遭遇了至少自上世紀40年代以來最嚴重的衰退，死亡人數已達到創紀錄的15萬人。盡管夏季高峰即將來臨，汽油需求仍遠低于平均水平，而TomTom Traffic Index的數據顯示，洛杉磯和邁阿密等城市的道路交通量還不到大流行前水平的一半。

在亞洲，成功抑制了第一波感染的國家，正在努力控制新的爆發。所有這些都使得石油庫存膨脹。世界上最大的獨立石油儲存公司，鹿特丹的Royal Vopak NV表示，它的可用空間幾乎耗盡。Rystad預計，下個月的日產量將比需求多70萬桶，9月份將比需求多200萬桶。

值得注意的是，價格也隨之萎靡不振。自4月底以來上漲逾一倍的布倫特原油期貨價格已失去上漲動力，這一國際基準原油價格停留在每桶40美元附近。咨詢公司石油市場主管Bjornar Tonhaugen表示:“歐佩克增加產量的嘗試可能適得其反，因為就石油需求而言，我們還遠未脫離困境。未來3到4個月，供需平衡似乎將朝著微小供應過剩的方向發展。”

咨詢公司JBC Energy GmbH在一份報告中稱，今年7月，歐佩克+日產原油2330萬桶，約占全球需求的四分之一。

王佳晶 摘譯自 彭博社

原文如下：

Opec+ is set to pump more oil just as recovery teeters

From quiet skies over Europe to sparse traffic in America’s biggest cities, a recovery in global oil demand is faltering amid the resurgence in coronavirus.

That poses a particularly delicate challenge for Opec and its partners, who next week plan to resume some of the crude output halted during the depths of the pandemic.

While the alliance is eager to ramp up oil sales after successfully reviving prices, the relapse in the world economy means that extra supply is arriving at a fragile moment, and could send the market lower again.

“We’re in quite a finely balanced place in terms of the scope to increase production,” said Alex Booth, head of research at market intelligence firm Kpler SAS. “You have to have quite a bullish view on the demand recovery to be able to justify any significant increase.”

The Opec+ alliance – led by Russia and Saudi Arabia – took a record 9.7mn barrels of daily output, or roughly 10% of global supply, offline when demand plunged over the spring. They intend to restart about 1.5mn barrels next month.

In theory, it’s reasonable for the 23-nation coalition to open the taps a little.

Their stringent cuts have almost tripled international crude prices from the lows struck in late April, lifting Brent crude futures to $43 a barrel. That’s thrown a lifeline to countries reliant on energy sales to finance government spending, and companies like Exxon Mobil Corp and BP Plc.

Global oil markets have swung into deficit after months of surplus, with demand exceeding supply in July by about 2mn barrels a day, according to Rystad Energy A/S, a consultant based in Oslo. That’s paring some of the inventory glut amassed during the first half of the year.

The inventory decline for the quarter as a whole could be twice as steep, averaging 4.4mn barrels a day, even if Opec+ revives production, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris.

Yet there are signs the tightening of the market is beginning to slacken.

“The markets are gradually recovering, but there are two major uncertainties,” Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, said in an interview. “One is the shape of the economic recovery globally, and in some of the key areas. And the second one is whether or not we are going to see a second wave of coronavirus.”

The death toll has reached a record 150,000 in the US, where the economy suffered its sharpest downturn since at least the 1940s in the second quarter.

Gasoline demand remains well-below average even as the summer peak approaches, while data from TomTom Traffic Index show that road traffic in cities such as Los Angeles and Miami is less than half pre-pandemic levels.

In Asia, countries that successfully suppressed the first wave of infections, such as Hong Kong, are struggling to contain new outbreaks. All of which is keeping inventories bloated. The world’s largest independent oil storage company, Rotterdam-based Royal Vopak NV, says that it’s almost run out of available space. Rystad predicts supply will exceed demand by 700,000 barrels a day next month, and by 2mn a day in September.

Prices are wilting in response. The rally that more than doubled Brent futures since late April has lost momentum, leaving the international benchmark stuck near $40 a barrel. A discount on early deliveries, which Opec sought to eliminate, has only deepened.

“Opec’s experiment to increase production could backfire as we are still nowhere near out of the woods yet in terms of oil demand,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, the consultant’s head of oil markets. “The balances look to be heading towards a mini supply glut for the next three to four months.”

In July, the organisation pumped 23.3mn barrels of crude a day, equivalent to about a quarter of global demand, consultants JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna said in a report.