OPEC and its allies have agreed to a one-month extension of record output reductions and adopted a more stringent approach to ensuring members don’t break their production pledges.
During a video conference, delegates said all nations had signed off on the new deal. The group will maintain its production cut of 9.7 million barrels a day to the end of July, instead of easing it to 7.7 million after this month as planned.In addition, the approved communique states that any member that doesn’t implement 100% of its production cuts in May and June will make extra reductions from July to September to compensate for their failings.
Oil has just posted a sixth weekly gain in London, more than doubling to $42.30 a barrel since April as traders anticipate tighter supplies and recovering demand from the coronavirus lockdowns. PresidentTrump on Friday hailed the cuts from OPEC and its allies for saving the U.S. energy industry.“Despite the progress achieved to date, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels,” Mohamed Arkab, Algeria’s energy minister and current OPEC president, said at the start of the meeting.
The next full ministerial OPEC+ meeting has been scheduled for Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, delegates said, although the communique notes that a conference could be held whenever it is required.Cutting production is always painful for oil-dependent states. Iraq in particular needs every penny because it’s still rebuilding its economy following decades of war, sanctions and insurgency.
Big Oil is DEAD.
oh sure they are. they had rather cut each others throats.