The IEA indicated in their March 15 Oil Market Report that a dramatic decline in oil production in crisis-hit Venezuela could tip the global crude market into deficit. With supply from Venezuela clearly vulnerable to an accelerated decline, without any increase from other crude producers it is possible that the Latin American country could be the final element that tips the market decisively into deficit.
The crisis in Venezuela's government-led economy has decimated its oil sector. The state's cash-strapped PDVSA oil company has been unable to properly manage its fields to maximize crude production, with output falling to half of what it was a decade ago. The IEA forecast that the country could see output fall this year to the lowest level since the late 1940s.
Global demand for oil is expected to move over 100 million barrels per day in Q3 2018.