Global spare oil output capacity, or more to the point the lack of it, remains at the forefront of industry concerns despite the reintroduction of relatively modest Opec+ cuts in November. These concerns aren’t yet as prominent as they were through most of 2022, but amid expectations that China’s re-opening will provide a major demand boost this year, discussion of a potential late-2023 supply-crunch is growing.

Speaking to CNBC during last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser urged increased industry investment, saying that “Today we have around 2mn barrels [per day] of spare capacity. The aviation industry is still 1mn barrels below pre-Covid levels. As the aviation industry picks up in 23-24, that’s an additional 1mn barrels. China opening up will add a lot to the demand side.” (CONTINUED - 955 WORDS)