London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Hedge funds bet on oil's 'big comeback' after pandemic hobbles producers

Hedge funds bet on oil's 'big comeback' after pandemic hobbles producers

Hedge funds are turning bullish on oil once again, betting the pandemic and investors’ environmental focus has severely damaged companies’ ability to ramp up production.

Such limitations on supply would push prices to multi-year highs and keep them there for two years or more, several hedge funds said.

The view is a reversal for hedge funds, which shorted the oil sector in the lead-up to global shutdowns, landing energy focused hedge funds gains of 26.8% in 2020, according to data from eVestment. By virtue of their fast-moving strategies, hedge funds are quick to spot new trends.

Global oil benchmark Brent has jumped 59% since early November when news of successful vaccines emerged, after COVID-19 travel curbs and lockdowns last year hammered fuel demand and collapsed oil prices. Last week it hit pre-pandemic levels close to $60 a barrel.

U.S. crude has climbed 54% to around $57 per barrel during the same period.

“By the summer, the vaccine should be widely provided and just in time for summer travel and I think things are going to go gangbusters,” said David D. Tawil, co-founder at New York-based event-driven hedge fund, Maglan Capital, and interim CEO of Centaurus Energy.

Tawil predicted prices of $70 to $80 a barrel for Brent by the end of 2021 and is investing long independent oil and gas producers.

Hedge funds’ bullish bets come despite the International Energy Agency warning in January a spike in new coronavirus cases will hamper oil demand this year, and a slow economic recovery would delay a full rebound in world energy demand to 2025.

Normally, oil producers would ramp up production as prices increase, but a move by environmentally focused investors from fossil fuels to renewables and caution by lenders leaves them hard-pressed to respond, hedge funds and other investors say.

The pace of output recovery in the United States, the world’s No. 1 oil producer, is forecast to be slow and will not top its 2019 record of 12.25 million barrels per day (bpd) until 2023. Production in 2020 tumbled 6.4% to 11.47 million bpd.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has also revised down demand growth, however, still expects output cuts to keep the market in deficit throughout 2021.

“We are going to see some incredible oil prices over the next couple of years, incredibly hot,” said Tawil.

‘BULL MARKET’


Global crude and condensate production was down 8% in December from February 2020, prior to the pandemic’s spread accelerating, according to Rystad Energy.

North America’s output was down 9.5% and Europe’s production declined just 1% over the same time period.

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and declining oilfields in Mexico have kept oil output from Latin America sluggish.

Some banks are forecasting the United States, which leads with the number of COVID-19 cases, to reach herd immunity by July, which would greatly stimulate oil demand, said Jean-Louis Le Mee, head of London-based hedge fund Westbeck Capital Management, which is long a mix of oil futures and equities.

“Oil companies, for the first time in a long time, are likely to make a big comeback,” he said. “We have all the ingredients for an extraordinary bull market in oil for the next few years.”

In the United States, hedge funds increased their allocation to Exxon Mobil Corp by 21,314 shares in the third quarter, the most recent U.S. filings compiled by Symmetric.io showed.

Hedge funds added another 9,070 shares of U.S. majors ConocoPhillips and 4,144 to Chevron Corp over the same time period.

Elsewhere, shorting activity in BP PLC fell by 16 million shares on Feb. 4 but increased slightly in European oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc by 1.9 million shares, data from FIS’ Astec Analytics showed.

Some investors remain skeptical on Canadian oil companies, among the world’s most carbon-intensive producers, though they are bouncing back faster from the pandemic than the United States.

Current short positions rose in 10 out of 14 Canadian oil companies in the Toronto energy index during the second two weeks of January, according to filings reviewed by Reuters.

U.S. shale production will not quickly rebound, given the capital required and debt producers are carrying, lending oil prices support, said Rafi Tahmazian, senior portfolio manager at Calgary-based Canoe Financial LP.

North America’s oilfield services sector, which producers rely on to drill new wells, has been decimated, he said.

“They’re decapitated from being able to grow,” Tahmazian said. “The supply side is broken.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×