OPEC: Booming Growth in U.S. Supplies Ending

The booming growth in U.S. oil supplies will end in 2015, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Thursday, citing a significant cutback in the number of drilling rigs.

In its closely watched monthly market report, OPEC said U.S. oil supplies would grow to about 13.65 million barrels a day in the second quarter of 2015 and then level off, beginning to decline in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, OPEC said demand for its own crude would rise slightly to about 29.3 million barrels a day, while demand for non-OPEC supplies would fall by about 165,000 barrels a day.

The U.S. rig count decreased by 238 rigs over four weeks in March to 1,110 rigs, decelerating the pace from last month's 335 rigs taken out of service, OPEC said, quoting data from Baker Hughes.

The Vienna-based organization kept global oil demand growth unchanged at 1.17 million barrels a day for 2015.