Oil supply growth will slow after 2020, with a drop in spare production capacity expected, unless new projects are approved soon, My SSnews informed, citing the International Energy Agency (IEA) latest report.

IEA’s market analysis and forecast report, previously known as the Medium-Term Oil Market Report, noted that the demand and supply trends point to a tight global oil market, with spare production capacity in 2022 falling to a 14-year low, Trade Arabia wrote.

According to the international group, investment in new projects fell during the slump in oil prices that began in mid-2014. In addition, OPEC members agreed to short-term cuts to boost crude prices.

The report further predicts that oil demand will rise, passing the symbolic 100mb/d threshold in 2019 and reaching about 104mb/d by 2022.

IEA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said: “We are witnessing the start of a second wave of US supply growth, and its size will depend on where prices go. But this is no time for complacency. We do not see a peak in oil demand any time soon. And unless investments globally rebound sharply, a new period of price volatility looms on the horizon.”