(Bloomberg) — The decline in U.S. crude production to a 21-month low is coming to an end thanks to the price recovery, according to the chief executive of the world’s biggest independent oil trader.
“I think it is stopping going down, which is probably good news for the world,” Vitol Group’s Ian Taylor told reporters at the Russian Energy Forum in London. “I am not sure about the recovery yet.”
Last week, explorers put rigs back to work at U.S. fields for a third week, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc., as this year’s recovery allows companies to resume operations. Futures have rebounded more than 90% in New York from a 12-year low in February. Marathon Oil Corp. will boost drilling if crude remains above $50 a barrel, chief executive Lee Tillman said on Monday.
Prices, trading at about $51 a barrel in London on Wednesday, will recover to the “mid-$50s” or “maybe a little bit higher” by the end of the year, Taylor said.
“We have almost done as much as I think we are going to do this year, and probably we will do a bit more next year,” Taylor said of the price recovery.
Bloomberg News by Anna Shiryaevskaya
