
Saudi Arabia will make further voluntary oil output cuts as part of a broader OPEC+ deal to cut production, sources told Reuters, as the group grapples with falling oil prices and oversupply.
The group, known as OPEC+, reached an agreement on production policy after seven hours of talks, the sources said.
Two OPEC+ sources said the group could keep the existing output deal for 2023 and make further cuts in 2024 if members agree on new baseline production limits from which the cuts apply.
It is not known when Saudi Arabia will begin voluntarily cutting oil production or how much Riyadh and OPEC+ will cut as a whole.
OPEC+, which brings together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps about 40 percent of the world’s oil, meaning its policy decisions can have a significant impact on oil prices.
Sources told Reuters that additional OPEC+ output cuts could amount to 1 million bpd on top of existing cuts of 2 million bpd and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million bpd that were announced unexpectedly in April and bought effective in May.
The announcement in April helped boost oil prices by about $9 a barrel to more than $87, but they quickly fell under pressure from concerns about economic growth and global demand.
On Friday, the reference price of Brent oil settled at the level of 76 dollars per barrel.
If approved, further cuts would increase the total volume of cuts to 4.66 million b/d, or about 4.5% of global demand.
Production cuts usually take effect the month after they are agreed, but ministers can also agree to implement them later.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz said investors shorting oil or betting on falling prices should “be careful,” in what many market watchers interpreted as a warning of further supply cuts.
Western countries have accused OPEC of manipulating oil prices and undermining the world economy due to high energy costs.
The West also accused OPEC of siding with Russia despite Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
In response, OPEC members said Western money printing over the past decade had fueled inflation and forced oil-producing countries to act to preserve the value of their main export.
Asian countries such as China and India have bought most of Russia’s oil exports and have refused to join Western sanctions against Russia.
At Sunday’s meeting, OPEC’s most powerful members and top producers in the Persian Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia, tried to persuade under-producing African countries such as Nigeria and Angola to set more realistic production targets, the sources said.
Nigeria and Angola have long fallen short of their targets, but oppose lower baselines because the new targets could force them to make real cuts.
Instead, the UAE has asked for a higher benchmark in line with the increase in production capacity, but that could mean its share of the overall cuts could be reduced.
OPEC barred Reuters journalists and other media from access to its headquarters.
Source: Hot News

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