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Oil supply may face shortage in 2019 due to Venezuela – KPC official

Oil supply may face shortage in 2019 due to Venezuela – KPC official
The US-China trade war could raise oil price volatility in 2019

Mubasher: Global crude oil supply could face big reductions in exports from Venezuela during 2019, the head of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), Hashem Hashem, said on Tuesday according to Reuters.

"However, the wild card recently has been market perceptions of potential shortages mainly from geopolitical pressures that have caused supply disruptions in the past and therefore pose a real threat for 2019," Hashem said in an industry conference in Kuwait, according to Reuters.

The threat of a trade war between the US and China in addition to mixed messages from the US on whether it would raise interest rates are currently causing volatility in the global equity markets, the head of the state-owned KPC said, according to Reuters.

He clarified that this trade war could raise oil price volatility in 2019.

“OPEC, Russia and other non-OPEC producers - an alliance known as OPEC+ - agreed in December to reduce supply by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1 January,” Reuters said, adding that “OPEC's share of the cut is 800,000 bpd, to be delivered by 11 members - all except Iran, Libya, and Venezuela.”

Hashem has warned of the impact of underinvestment in the oil sector which could cause a supply crunch by 2025.