WASHINGTON — Thanks to record crude oil prices, OPEC members will likely earn over $1-trillion this year from oil exports, according to the U.S. government's top energy forecasting agency.
Net oil export earnings from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are forecast to skyrocket 57 per cent from last year's $674-billion to $1.06-trillion this year and then decline to $990-billion in 2009 after an expected contraction in oil prices, the Energy Information Administration said in its new forecast.
That is much higher than the EIA's estimate at the beginning of the year that OPEC would earn $850-billion from oil shipments in 2008.
On a per-capita basis, OPEC's oil export revenue will rise 55 per cent in 2008 to $1,769 from $1,143 last year, the EIA said.
A statue depicting an oil rig is seen here in front of the Energy Ministry in Caracas, Venezuela.
&NBSP;A report Wednesday from the U.S. government's top energy forecasting agency says the OPEC oil cartel's profit will skyrocket to $1-trillion this year. (Reuters)
Oil Future June'08
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OPEC members are benefiting strong global oil demand and skyrocketing crude prices, which for U.S. oil topped a record $122.73 a barrel this week.
Even though U.S. oil demand is expected to decline by 190,000 barrels a day this year because of high energy prices and a weak American economy, the EIA forecasts that global oil consumption will rise by 1.2 million barrels per day in 2008.
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