Oil stability needed for predictability: Turkey

Oil price stability is needed for predictability in the global oil market, and volatility in oil prices must end immediately, Turkey's energy and natural resources minister said on April 11. 

"All actors' main point, whether they are oil-producing or consuming countries, was that there should be cooperation and solidarity in the supply and demand sides of the oil market," he said in the wake of a Friday G20 energy ministers teleconference, also attended by officials from the International Energy Agency (IEA), International Energy Forum (IEF) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on global markets, social life, and economic activities around the world was the main topic of the conference, Fatih Dönmez told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.

"Price volatility in recent weeks was the main concern," of the meeting, he said. "Rather than high or low oil prices, lack of projection and volatility in oil prices have a higher negative impact on the market."

He added that while there was a supply-and-demand balance of 100 million barrels per day (bpd) before COVID-19, now there is a decline of 20 million bpd on the demand side.

This is due to the stalled global transportation industry since two-thirds of global crude output is used in transportation and the rest is used mostly in petrochemistry, he added.

Dönmez told how earlier Friday OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries agreed to curb their total production by 10 million bpd, which could later increase to 13-14 million bpd after more countries join in.
The change in crude oil prices is usually reflected in natural gas prices in about six months' time, according to market fundamentals, but...