The demand for electricity will decrease in the coming months, but in the case of natural gas, OMV Petrom estimates an increase in demand and price, depending on the severity of the 2023-24 winter, said on Friday, during the financial results presentation conference, Franck Neel, member of the OMV Petrom Directorate responsible for the Gas and Energy activity.
“If we look at supply and demand, which regulate the market price, we expect to reach a decrease in the demand for electricity in the coming months, although the demand has increased due to the use of air conditioning, and this will have an impact on prices. When we say that in the coming months we still expect an increase in demand, maybe there will be an increase in the price of gas. Of course, it depends on how cold it will be in the winter. If we look at the transactions in the market today, for that there are already transactions being made in preparation for winter and next year, the price is somewhere between 49 and 52 per Megawatt/hour, so quite high. It is a trend that we are recording in the market from the transactions that are taking place, as I said, in preparation for winter and the next calendar year 2024,” said Neel, quoted by Agerpres.
At the same time, the price of Brent crude could be between 75 and 80 dollars per barrel this year, added the financial director of OMV Petrom, Alina Popa.
“We expect volatility to persist in energy markets as commodity prices react to demand signals. In 2023, we expect price Brent crude oil to be between $75 and $80 per barrel, and our refining margin is expected to be above $10 per barrel. We expect refinery utilization to be around 80% in 2023,” Alina Popa said.