The global oil market appears to be facing a problem of plenty with producers having a combined spare capacity of 9 million barrels a day (mbd) at a time when demand is muted, ONGC chairman Arun Singh said.
“We are moving into an era of plenty,” Singh said during a panel discussion on Thursday. “The world has 9 mbd of surplus capacity lying in the valves. All you have to do is open the valves,” he said, referring to the spare capacity at major producers such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Guyana, Canada, and the US.
The last quarter of 2025 may see a surplus of 1 million barrels “unless they remove this from the market,” Singh said.
The world currently produces around 100 mbd of crude, and the producer cartel OPEC+ member countries have kept more than 5 mbd of production capacity unused to support prices.
Global oil demand has been muted in 2024 due to slower economic growth and a shift to alternative fuels. China’s economic troubles and its rapid shift to EVs have slowed oil consumption.
“Oil demand worldwide, including in India, is not the same as it used to be,” Singh said. India’s oil demand will continue to grow at around 3-4%, but global growth will remain muted, Singh added.
The demand-supply imbalance has prompted international oil companies to scale back exploration, Singh said, adding that India has no option but to continue exploring, as it is dependent on imports.
The current international trend towards deglobalisation “will not last long,” said Singh, referring to nations’ insistence on onshoring manufacturing.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://livdose.com/global-oil-supply-in-surplus-as-demand-remains-muted-ongc-chief-et-auto/&media=https://i1.wp.com/etimg.etb2bimg.com/thumb/msid-119970670,imgsize-34492,width-1200,height=765,overlay-etauto/oil-and-lubes/global-oil-supply-in-surplus-as-demand-remains-muted-ongc-chief.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1&description=OPEC+ Production: "We are moving into an era of plenty," Singh said during a panel discussion on Thursday. "The world has 9 mbd of surplus capacity lying in the valves.){kind=link}