World’s Oil Market in Late 2020

Andrey S. Kaukin – Head of Department for System Analysis of Sectoral Markets of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Acting Head of Center for Real Sector, Head of Department of Sectoral Markets and Infrastructure of the Gaidar Institute, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Eugenia M. Miller – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow, Russia). Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The refusal to sharply increase oil output by the OPEC+ deal participants and the news of the launch of vaccinations against the coronavirus were positively received by the world oil market: on December 10, for the first time since March 2020, Brent crude futures rose above $50 per barrel. The risks threatening oil price recovery and market balancing have been the additional containment measures adopted in a number of countries in response to the “second wave” of the pandemic and the resulting demand shrinkage. The upward trend may be sustained by the start of mass-vaccination programs and the subsequent confirmation of their effectiveness, as well as the continued concerted actions by the OPEC+ participants.

Key words: crude oil, global oil market, oil production, oil prices, OPEC+, pandemic second wave, Covid-19 vaccination.