In: Economics
Sol:-
With lockdowns all over the world, there are very less vehicles
on the road. Also, countries are not operating airplanes as 80% of
all the airplanes are grounded and the industries are not operating
or operating partially. So, demand for oil is falling which lead to
a decrease in demand for oil shifting the demand for oil to the
left from D to D’ which will lead to a decrease in price of oil
from P to P’ and this decrease in price will lead to a decrease in
quantity supplied decreasing the equilibrium quantity of output to
Q’ from Q.
The oil and gas sector has suffered a tumultuous start to 2020 in
the wake of Covid-19. Overall, the energy sector – a key pillar of
many FDI strategies – is forecasted by GlobalData to face downward
earnings revisions of 208% in 2020, with the shock compounded by
the oil price crash.
Oil prices have decreased by around 50% since January 2020, with
the US market reporting record lows. With countries on lockdown
there is significantly less of all activity, and the demand for oil
and gas has fallen spectacularly.
The International Energy Agency reported that oil demand is likely
to decrease by 29 million barrels per day (bpd) in April 2020 and
by 23.1 million bpd in Q2.
Thus, the sector has seen an imbalance of oversupply and less
demand, further exacerbating the price crash. This has trickled
down and impacted a number of sectors that usually pull FDI focus,
including the chemical, plastic and automotive sectors.
This has also caused a liquid storage crisis, with many facilities
reaching maximum capacity. On 20 April, for the first time in
history, oil prices went below zero, when US price marker West
Texas Intermediate was trading for May delivery at -$4.29. Oil
storage has gotten so bad that producers are literally paying
buyers to take the oil deliveries. Oil companies such as Shell and
Exxon are making moves to counteract oversupply issues by delaying
LNG project constructions.