Morgan Stanley expects Brent crude oil prices to advance to $100 a barrel in the second half of this year, with the market heading for a simultaneous "triple deficit" of inventories, spare capacity and investment.
"The key oil products markets (gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil/diesel) all show strong crack spreads, steep backwardation and inventories that have fallen to low levels. None of this signals weakness," it said in a note.
The bank raised its price forecasts for Brent crude to $100 a barrel for the last two quarters of the year, up from the $90 and $87.50 previously estimated for the third and fourth quarters respectively.
Brent crude futures were trading at about $88 a barrel on Friday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $85. Both benchmarks are on track for a fifth consecutive weekly gain.
Morgan Stanley's projection chimes with those of other investments banks, including Goldman Sachs, in predicting oil prices could hit $100 per barrel this year.
Recommended Reading
Technip Awarded FEED for BP’s UK Hydrogen Project
2024-08-27 - BP’s H2Teesside is expected to be one of the U.K.’s largest low-carbon hydrogen production facilities and fully integrated with carbon capture technology.
Artificial Lift Meets Artificial Intelligence, with Hit and Miss Results
2024-08-23 - Oxy and Chevron are among companies trying to find the sweet spot between data analytics and machine learning with human intervention to optimize production and predict failures before they happen.
Barrio Energy Acquires 12-MW Data Center in Texas
2024-08-22 - Barrio Energy’s new 12-megawatt data center in Tyler, Texas, brings the company’s number of data center properties in the state to five.
PPG’s Insulation Coating Offers Oil, Gas Asset Protection in High Heat
2024-08-21 - The PPG Pitt-Therm 909 spray-on insutlation coating can withstand high temperatures to promote safety and corrosion resistance.
Salunda, Intellilift Enter Pact to Optimize Automation in Well Construction
2024-08-21 - The agreement was signed following a successful pilot trial integrating Intellilift’s digital technologies with Salunda’s patented camera and wearable red zone monitoring solutions on a drilling rig.