PIRA Expects $50-60/barrel Oil from OPEC Deal

The Organization of Oil Exporting Countries' decision to embrace production cuts will help move crude prices toward a target of $50 to $60 per barrel, Gary Ross, chairman of consultancy PIRA Energy Group, told reporters on Wednesday.

OPEC's policy has shifted as Saudi Arabia is targeting that price range and Iran has become more willing to accept an agreement.

Ross said at a news conference that U.S. shale producers were likely to hedge future output more selectively after OPEC decided to limit output.

Shale producers and oil-consuming companies were under-hedged, he said, adding that industrial and airline buying would support prices.

The surplus in oil supply has been eroding since the second quarter and will be "gone" by the second half of 2017, Ross said.


(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar and Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)