Pump jacks are found on the Midway Sunset Oilfield in California.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Tuesday that the release of vaccines to fight the corona virus outbreak this month will not quickly reverse the devastation caused by global oil demand.
“The ecstasy of understanding the start of vaccination programs explains somewhat higher prices, but it takes several months for us to reach vaccinated, economically active individuals, thus seeing an impact on oil demand,” the IEA said in its monthly report.
“Meanwhile, the end of the annual holiday period will soon put us at risk of another upsurge in COVID-19 cases and the possibility of further imprisonment.”
The Paris-based watchdog revised its oil demand estimates this year to 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) and next year to 170,000 ppd, citing the use of rare jet fuel as fewer people travel by air.
Europe had the bulk of the recession as demand was lower in the fourth quarter compared to the third period due to updated locking measures.
The IEA predicts that global oil stocks, which have risen in the wake of falling epidemics, will finally reach the deficit by July 2019, compared to pre-crisis levels.