據8月10日Rigzone報道，沙特阿美石油公司（Saudi Aramco）預計，盡管世界上許多地區仍在努力控制冠狀病毒，但石油需求結束了連續兩天的跌勢，并將在今年剩余時間里繼續改善。

沙特阿美公布第二季度利潤下滑后，該公司首席執行官阿明?納賽爾(Amin Nasser)周日表示，亞洲原油消費量幾乎回到了病毒爆發前的水平。與此同時，美國的石油鉆探降至15年以來的最低水平，原因是勘探公司放棄了增長計劃，使得以前數十億桶的石油發現變得毫無價值。

自6月初以來，油價一直徘徊在每桶40美元附近，不過有跡象顯示油價可能突破高位，雖然不斷上升的病毒感染病例引發了市場對經濟持續復蘇的懷疑。然而，歐佩克+將重新估計需求狀況，在歷史性減產后，從本月開始恢復部分供應。

CMC Markets Asia Pacific首席市場策略師麥卡錫(Michael McCarthy)表示，需求復蘇好于預期，這支撐了價格。歐佩克減產的放松已經反映在價格中，但市場對今年下半年經濟復蘇的看法不一。

截至倫敦時間上午7:50，紐約商品交易所9月份交割的西德克薩斯中質原油價格上漲1.1%，至每桶41.66美元。上周五下跌了1.7%。歐洲期貨交易所，布倫特原油10月份結算價上漲0.7%，至44.71美元，上周五曾下跌1.5%。

納賽爾表示，目前的石油需求約為每天9000萬桶，而疫情爆發前的水平約為每天1億桶。該公司公布第二季度凈利潤暴跌73%，因原油價格隨著消費銳減而暴跌。

美國貝克休斯公司(Baker Hughes Co.)上周五公布的數據顯示，在美國，活躍鉆機數量減少了4臺，至176臺，為2005年7月以來的最低水平。在過去的四個半月時間里，各個公司幾乎都在不間斷地暫停鉆機作業。

王佳晶 摘譯自 Rigzone

原文如下：

Oil Up as Aramco Sees Demand Recovery Continuing

Oil snapped a two-day losing streak as Saudi Aramco predicted demand will continue to improve through the rest of the year, despite many regions across the world struggling to bring the coronavirus under control.

Crude consumption in Asia is almost back to pre-virus levels, Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said Sunday after the world’s top exporter reported a slump in second-quarter profit. Meanwhile, oil drilling in the U.S. fell to a 15-year low as explorers abandoned growth plans and as billions of barrels from old discoveries became worthless.

Oil is showing some signs of potentially breaking higher after being stuck near $40 a barrel since early June as rising virus infections raised doubts about a sustained recovery. However, OPEC+ is set to test the appetite for demand, returning some supply to the market from this month following historic production cuts.

The demand recovery is better than expected and that’s supporting prices, said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets Asia Pacific. The easing of OPEC+ cuts has already been priced in, but sentiment is mixed toward an economic recovery through the second half of the year, he said.

West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose 1.1% to $41.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:50 a.m. London time after falling 1.7% on Friday

Brent for October settlement gained 0.7% to $44.71 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after dropping 1.5% on Friday

Oil demand is around 90 million barrels a day, Aramco’s Nasser said, compared with pre-pandemic levels of roughly 100 million barrels a day. The state-controlled company reported a 73% slump in second-quarter net income after crude prices collapsed following a crash in consumption.

In the U.S., the number of active drill rigs fell by four to 176, the lowest since July 2005, according to Baker Hughes Co. data released Friday. Companies have been parking rigs on an almost uninterrupted streak for more than four and a half months.