Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter Opec has maintained a relatively bullish view of Chinese oil demand for 2023 in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report. Accordingly, the number-crunchers at the Opec Secretariat in Vienna left their forecast of growth in global oil demand for this year more or less unchanged at 2.2 million b/d. By contrast, Energy Intelligence sees more muted global demand growth of 1.6 million b/d. Opec's view assumes a strong rebound in China's appetite for oil, as the country returns to its familiar role as the engine of global oil demand and moves away from its policy of tough Covid-19 restrictions. Chinese oil demand contracted by 210,000 b/d in 2022, but Opec is projecting growth of 510,000 b/d this year. However, the report warns that the world's consumption of oil "remains surrounded by uncertainties including global economic developments, shifts in Covid-19 containment policies, and geopolitical tensions." Opec has also left its estimate of non-Opec supply growth for 2023 unchanged from last month at 1.5 million b/d, led by the US, Norway, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan and Guyana. The group estimates that Russian output will fall by 850,000 b/d this year,.
