IHS: Oil market now reaching bottom as supply, demand begin to balance out

The downturn in oil prices that has led operators worldwide to reduce budgets and drilling programs has reached a bottom, as the oversupply of oil has begun to balance out with demand, according to IHS Vice President for Energy-wide Perspectives Susan Farrell. “We have oil supply going below what is needed for demand (this year), which means we are finally going to start rebalancing the market going forward,” Ms Farrell said at the 2016 IADC World Drilling Conference on 15 June in Lisbon. While spending is expected to remain flat in the near future, IHS expects an increase in drilling activity beyond 2017 as companies begin to finish paying off debt from pre-downturn investments. Watch the video to learn more.