, Columnist
Dude, Where's My Oil? (And Why Is It So Expensive?)
The world's oil stockpiles are looking a lot lower than expected. All those 'missing barrels' might make prices soar further.
You won’t find it here.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Where did all the oil go? According to the latest estimates, the world should still be awash in oil stockpiles built up during the pandemic. But that’s not what the actual data on oil supplies show.
The International Energy Agency’s latest report, published on Wednesday, shows that, if their supply-and-demand numbers are right, the world’s oil stockpiles are about 660 million barrels higher than they were before the pandemic — that’s equivalent to more than a month’s worth of production by Saudi Arabia and Russia, the two biggest members of OPEC+.