Forbes Piece: OPEC Pointedly Rejects IEA ‘Peak Oil’ Projection Amid Rising Crude Prices

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Kuwaiti Haitham al-Ghais, gestures during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, on September 14, 2022. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)

[Note: This story is also published at Forbes.com]

The U.S. domestic index price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slammed through the $90/bbl mark for the first time since November, 2022 Thursday, as extended cuts in exports by Saudi Arabia, Russia and a handful of other OPEC+ member nations had a deepening impact on global supply. At the same time, the international Brent index price approached $94/bbl in late day trading.

The impacts of the undersupplied state of the market are becoming increasingly clear over time. Houston-based Bison Interests published a chart this week showing that overall U.S. crude inventories, including the 40-year low balance in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, have now dropped to just roughly 46 days of national crude consumption, its lowest level since 1985.