US sees non-OPEC oil output growth ending in 2011

The world will become more dependent on OPEC oil beginning next year as the combined oil output from countries outside of the producer group begins to decline, the U.S. government said on Tuesday.

The Energy Information Administration said in its new monthly forecast that non-OPEC oil supplies will not sustain the 630,000 barrel-per day-increase experienced in 2009.
Output growth is expected to slow to 420,000 bpd this year when production reaches an average 50.7 million bpd and then decline by 140,000 bpd in 2011.

This year’s growth in non-OPEC output reflects new projects in Brazil, the United States and the former Soviet states of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan offsetting declining production from mature oil fields in Mexico, the United Kingdom and Norway.

But next year the output drop at these mature fields will overtake the production growth from the new fields, according to the EIA.

Reuters