Oil price forecast

World oil prices recovered after a fall caused by oversupply. In 2014–2016, the cost of “black gold” has significantly decreased — from 107.1 dollars per barrel in the 1st half of 2014 to 51.2 dollars per barrel in 2015 and 41.9 dollars per barrel in 2016.

In 2016, exporting countries decided to rectify the situation and artificially reduce the amount of oil produced.

As a result of negotiations, OPEC member states (organizations of oil-exporting countries) signed an agreement that obliged them to reduce their production by 1.2 million barrels per day. Another 11 countries outside the organization agreed to reduce it by 558,000 barrels per day. Russia reduced oil production by 300,000 barrels relative to the level of October 2016

Oil prices are rising: against the background of further market balancing, a higher level of barrel price is expected.

After a serious drop at the end of 2018 to 53.34 dollars per barrel, the cost of the BRENT grade rose to 67.02 dollars per barrel. The price of URALS oil is approximately at the same level: in December 2018, it was worth 52.61 dollars per barrel, and in March it rose to 67.02 dollars per barrel.

Now an overabundance of oil, which brought down prices in 2014–2016, is not expected to be on the market: production in Venezuela has dropped to a half-century minimum. Russia has begun to replace it in the mineral market and is already exporting oil to the United States.

Experts predict that the price of Russian URALS oil on the world market in 2019 will be in the range of 52–75 dollars per barrel.