Demand growth for refined oil products will never return to the levels it reached before the coronavirus outbreak, Citigroup said. As the global economy restarts, fewer people will fly and use their cars, analysts including Ed Morse wrote. With meetings going virtual and business no longer needing to move employees around the world in the same way as before, there will be powerful forces pushing a transition away from oil, they wrote in a report.
At its peak, the virus wiped out as much as 30% of total oil demand, and the market is still recovering. The report comes just days after Royal Dutch Shell warned of a record writedown to the value of its assets after it reduced its view for long-term oil and gas prices, while BP Plc has also taken similar steps. Citi said that oil is more likely to be at $45 than $60 a barrel in the long-term. Worldoil