VIENNA, Jun 5 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, yesterday agreed to adjust their overall production level to 40.46 million barrels per day (bpd) next year.
The oil-producer alliance announced the decision in a statement, released after the 35th OPEC+ ministerial meeting, held in Vienna earlier yesterday.
In the statement, OPEC+ reiterated its efforts, to “achieve and sustain a stable oil market, and to provide long-term guidance for the market.”
Last Oct, OPEC+ slashed its production targets for 2023 (between Nov, 2022 and Dec, 2023) to 41.86 million bpd. In Apr this year, the alliance announced a further voluntary output reduction of 1.66 million bpd.
OPEC+’s latest decision came, amid sliding oil prices in recent weeks. The alliance’s surprise production cuts in early Apr, pushed up oil prices to above 85 U.S. dollars a barrel, but the prices swiftly retreated and have been hovering just above 70 U.S. dollars a barrel in recent days, under pressure from lingering concern over the economic outlook and demand.
Following OPEC+’s announcement yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry announced a further cut of oil production by one million bpd, which will start next month, for a month, that can be extended, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Saudi energy ministry said, the voluntary output reduction is in line with the agreement reached in the OPEC+ ministerial meeting.
The U.S. and Western countries, accused OPEC+ of pushing up oil prices and fuelling inflation with its production cuts, whereas OPEC+ insisted that, the cuts have been made to stabilise the oil market, where demand has weakened amid a worsening global economic outlook.
The OPEC+ countries yesterday also decided to hold the group’s ministerial meeting every six months. The next meeting for the OPEC+ ministers will convene on Nov 26.– NNN-XINHUA
