Russia Energy Week: Ministers discuss, Novak sees higher oil demand in 2020

Global oil demand is expected to rise by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) next year after growing at a rate of one million bpd in 2019, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak’s article in the Energy Policy magazine.

Energy leaders from across the world have convened at Moscow for a week to discuss matters ranging from the global energy outlook to challenges in the development of renewable energy.

Saudi Arabia’s newly-appointed Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman is set to speak at the event later on Wednesday.

Reuters also reported Novak as saying that the output caps in place – part of the global oil production deal – were temporary and that Russia would only undertake such cuts when they are in national interest.

Russia’s forecast come weeks after OPEC cut its world oil demand growth projections to 1.08 million barrels per day (mb/d) for 2020, down 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), from its projections a month ago.

OPEC and allied producers led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, agreed last year to cut oil supply by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to support prices. In July, the countries agreed to extend the cuts until March 2020.

At the same event, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zangeneh said the energy market must be non-political in order to prevent interference, Reuters reported, citing the official IRNA news agency.

“The energy market must be non-political in order to prevent unilateral and illegal interference,” Zanganeh said.