OPEC Income to Increase by US$184 Billion in 2010

An expected rise in oil prices will ally with higher crude supply to boost Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) income by US$184 billion in 2010 after tumbling by nearly a third in 2009, official US data showed. The 12-nation OPEC, which pumps just under 40% of the global oil supplies, is projected to net about US$575 billion in 2009, far lower than its record 2008 income of US$965 billion, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Earnings are expected to sharply rebound to US$759 bn in 2010 apparently because of higher prices and output.

EIA of the US Department of Energy gave no forecasts on prices and OPEC's production but according to the Institute of International Finance, crude prices could average about US$72 a barrel in 2010 compared with US$60 in 2009. OPEC producers could also be prompted by an expected recovery in demand to hike output, which was officially cut by 4.2 million bpd at the start of 2009 following a sharp fall in demand because of the global fiscal turbulence.

EIA had previously projected OPEC's 2010 income at below US$600 billion but it massively revised up its forecasts apparently because it expects crude prices to rebound in 2010 and the Group's production to be raised. OPEC, which controls more than 70% of the global oil resources, netted its highest ever income in 2008 after prices soared to a record high of nearly US$147 a barrel in late-July 2009 and averaged US$95 through the year.

EIA's figures showed OPEC's oil export earnings stood at about US$512 billion in the first 11 months of 2009, when crude prices averaged about US$60. A breakdown showed Saudi Arabia, sitting atop a quarter of the world's oil wealth, gained nearly US$139 billion, more than a quarter of OPEC's total income.

Iran was the second largest earner with US$49 billion, followed by the UAE with US$46 billion and Kuwait with about US$41 billion. The 11-month income was estimated at US$41 billion in Nigeria and US$38 billion each in Algeria and Angola. - Zawya