Hess Corp President Greg Hill said during an energy conference that global crude oil demand would rise to 100 million bpd by the end of 2021 or early 2022, a view echoed by other industry players during the event. That will exceed the pre-pandemic level of 99.7 million bpd in 2019. It is also in line with OPEC’s global demand forecast of 100.8 million bpd in 2022, but ahead of the IEA’s projections of 96.1 million bpd this year and 99.4 million next year.
Brent crude prices have climbed more than 50% since the start of the year. The benchmarks settled at $79.19 a barrel on Monday, its highest since October 2018. Goldman Sachs expects Brent to hit $90 per barrel by the end of the year, compared to $80 per barrel in its previous forecast.
The bullish view on oil demand has prompted refiners to prepare to ramp up their utilisation. Alois Virag, the CEO of Indian refiner Nayara Energy, said his company hopes to run its 400,000 bpd refinery at near 100% capacity through the rest of the year as fuel demand picks up. Petronas said it aims to restart its 300,000 bpd Pengerang refinery by the end of 2021 after being shut due to a fire last year.
