Oil Price Developments: Drivers, Economic Consequences and Policy Responses

Anne-Marie Brook, Robert Price, Douglas Sutherland, Niels Westerlund and Christophe André

No 412, OECD Economics Department Working Papers from OECD Publishing

Abstract: This paper analyses the factors influencing the price of oil and its likely evolution over the next quarter century. It begins by investigating the fundamental forces shaping long-term oil price developments, highlighting the importance of growth-led demand for oil, particularly that emanating from fast-growing, energy-intensive developing countries, and the implications of increasingly geographically concentrated oil reserves. The paper presents oil price projections to 2030 and examines the sensitivity of the projections to the assumptions about growth and non-OPEC supply. While certain combinations of factors could lead to a significantly higher oil price, the projections also suggest that the optimal strategy of resource-rich oil producers would be to prevent it rising too far. The paper then documents short-term influences on the oil price, which peaked at $50 a barrel in 2004, and notes that they have probably led to a significant departure from the long-run equilibrium price ... Ce document analyse les facteurs qui influencent le prix du pétrole et son évolution probable au cours du prochain quart de siècle. Il examine d’abord les déterminants fondamentaux de l’évolution des prix du pétrole à long terme, en soulignant l’importance de la demande pétrolière alimentée par la croissance, en particulier celle émanant des pays en développement à forte intensité d’énergie et en expansion rapide, ainsi que les conséquences de la concentration géographique croissante des réserves pétrolières. Le document présente des prévisions des prix du pétrole jusqu’à l’horizon 2030 et évalue leur sensibilité aux hypothèses concernant la croissance et l’offre hors OPEP. Tandis que certaines combinaisons de facteurs pourraient se traduire par un prix du pétrole nettement plus élevé, les prévisions montrent aussi que pour les producteurs pétroliers dotés d’abondantes réserves la stratégie optimale consisterait à empêcher une hausse excessive des cours. L’étude décrit ensuite les ...

Keywords: crude oil; energy; market structure; pétrole brut; structure de marché; énergie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L13 Q41 Q43 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-12-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:412-en

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