Oil ministers tackle problem of missing barrels

Every so often after Venezuela publishes its official oil production data, someone from the country
But it also underlines a serious problem. Most of the world, with the exception of a few developed countries, is unable to collect sufficiently accurate demand and supply data to forecast the price of oil.

Had oil companies had a better idea of where global demand and Opec supply would be today, they would probably have invested more readily in pipelines, rigs, platforms and refineries, five to 10 years ago. Independently of shocks such as Hurricane Katrina, shortage of production and refining capacity is the main reason for today