Oil analyst who foresaw crash sees Opec uniting in self-interest

Singapore

MEMBERS of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) need to stop bickering over output curbs or risk the group becoming irrelevant to global oil markets, according to an analyst who predicted the biggest price crash in a generation.

It's in the interest of all producers to reach a deal that's aimed at stabilising prices, which are 61 per cent lower than their 2014 highs, said Gary Ross, executive chairman at Pira Energy Group. A failure to implement an agreement could drag down crude to as low as US$35 a barrel, while success at the group's meeting later this month may push oil to US$60, more than 30 per cent higher than current levels, he said.