OPEC Chief Haitham Al Ghais Sees High Risk of Oil Squeeze Amid Bullish Demand - Bloomberg video

OPEC Chief Haitham Al Ghais Sees High Risk of Oil Squeeze Amid Bullish Demand - Bloomberg

Global oil markets face a high risk of a supply squeeze this year as demand remains resilient and spare production capacity dwindles, the new head of OPEC said.

Fears over slowing consumption in China and the wider world -- which have pushed crude prices 16% lower this month -- have been exaggerated, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

At the same time, producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and beyond are running out of extra supplies they can bring to market, Al-Ghais said at OPEC’s Vienna headquarters. The Kuwaiti oil executive was appointed as the group’s top diplomat this month.

“We are running on thin ice, if I may use that term, because spare capacity is becoming scarce,” Al-Ghais said. “The likelihood of a squeeze is there.”