Oil market fundamentals at ‘horrifying’ levels, says Opec secretary general – The National

Oil market fundamentals at ‘horrifying’ levels, says Opec secretary general – The National

Oil market fundamentals at 'horrifying' levels, says Opec secretary general. The current oversupply is set to add a further 1.3 billion barrels to global oil stocks, potentially exhausting global storage capacity by May. Oil market fundamentals have reached "horrifying" levels following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, with global storage capacity expected to be exhausted by May, Opec's secretary-general told ministers at an emergency meeting on Thursday.. Demand for the second quarter alone is expected to contract by 12m bpd, he added.. London-based FGE expects a 24m bpd decline in April alone, while Swiss bank UBS expects a fall of 20m bpd during the current quarter.. Mr Barkindo called the demand decline "staggering" and "unprecedented in modern times".. Opec also expressed caution about available oil storage capacity.. The group estimates available storage capacity worldwide at a billion barrels, but that was "quickly filling up", said Mr Barkindo.. "Given the current unprecedented supply and demand imbalance there could be a colossal excess volume of 14.7m bpd in the [second quarter], " he said.. "For the current quarter, around 15 per cent of global oil consumption has evaporated and this huge market imbalance needs to be urgently addressed," said Mr Barkindo..