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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204712904578094980730090350.html
The Coming Oil Glut
(Wall Street Journal Europe) Leonardo Maugeri - The price of oil continues to be set by fear, not by supply and demand. World-wide oil production is growing quickly. By the end of the year, it will probably surpass 92 million barrels per day, with additional spare capacity of more than 3.5 million barrels, thanks in part to the shale oil revolution in the U.S. Meanwhile, oil demand is growing sluggishly, a consequence of the troubled global economic situation, which will probably prevent demand this year from exceeding 89 million barrels per day. At the same time, the exploration and production of oil and gas is experiencing unprecedented investment. No one anticipated the very fast recovery of Libyan oil production, the limited impact of falling Iranian oil exports, the astonishing growth of U.S. shale production, or the new records of Russian and Iraqi oil production. The writer, a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, previously served as a top executive at the Italian energy company Eni.