Over time, a strong krone and weak demand among major trading partner countries will probably have a dampening impact on activity in Norway. Little excess production capacity in OPEC countries, combined with the prospect of lower production in non-OPEC countries, has probably influenced oil prices. At the same time, there are prospects of continued strong demand growth in important oil-importing countries, such as China and some other emerging economies. More on the oil market The IMF has analysed supply and demand in the oil market for the period ahead in the latest issue of “World Economic Outlook”, published in April of this year. Assuming an annual global GDP growth of approximately 3 per cent and an oil price in line with market expectations in February 2005,1 demand for oil is expected to increase by around 2 per cent per year until 2030. Price expectations are higher now, but according to IMF calculations, the demand for oil in the long-term reacts relatively little to price changes. The growth in demand primarily reflects higher demand for fuel for motor vehicles, particularly in non-OECD countries. An increase in per capita income in China will in particular lead to a sharp increase in car use. Output in non-OPEC countries will peak in the not-too-distant future – in 5 years, according to IMF estimates. Higher demand will require higher output in OPEC countries. These countries have substantial oil resources but are currently producing close to capacity. Production capacity must therefore be increased.
Higher demand can thereby be met by non-OPEC oil producers operating at full capacity while OPEC passively satisfies any remaining demand by increasing its production capacity. Alternatively, OPEC can take a more active position and push up oil prices even further by restraining production. Not many years ago, it was normal to assume that the long-term price of oil was around USD 20 to USD 25 (in real value) per barrel. Analyses such as the one presented by the IMF suggest that the long-term oil price level may be considerably higher than this. 1  An average of USD 45 per barrel in 2005 and falling to USD 34 per barrel in 2010 and the years following. As a result of persistently high oil prices and expectations that oil prices will remain high, investment in the petroleum sector may reach record levels this year. The investment intentions survey for the petroleum sector points to very high growth. The level is expected to remain high throughout the projection period. Activity in the petroleum sector will have spillover effects on the mainland economy, initially on the shipbuilding industry and the building and construction sector. The scale of petroleum investment and its spillover effects are highly uncertain. The last time petroleum investment showed a sharp increase, in 1997/1998, growth was substantially stronger than had been assumed. At the same time, the rest of the Norwegian economy was experiencing an upturn. The unexpected increase in petroleum investment contributed to an economic upturn that was substantially stronger than projected.