OPEC Spare Capacity to Surge Amid U.S. Shale Boost, IEA Says

OPEC’s spare crude oil production capacity will surge 25 percent in the next two years as rising U.S. shale output crimps demand for the group’s supplies, the International Energy Agency said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is forecast to increase its implied spare output capacity to a peak at 7.18 million barrels a day in 2015 versus 5.76 million this year, the IEA said today in its medium-term oil market report. The figure is calculated by subtracting the anticipated demand for OPEC crude from the group’s total production capacity.