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The energy minister of the United Arab Emirates said on Monday there was no need for the OPEC+ group to meet earlier than scheduled after Russia announced at the weekend that it would unilaterally cut output.
Asked whether the next planned meeting of OPEC and allies led by Russia would be brought forward, Suhail al-Mazrouei said: “I don’t see a need for a meeting. The market is balanced.”
Russia said on Friday it would cut oil production by 500,000 bpd next month after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products.
OPEC+ agreed in October to cut its oil production target by 2 million bpd until the end of 2023.
The OPEC+ Ministerial Committee is scheduled to meet in early April and a full ministerial meeting is planned for June 4.
After closing more than 2% higher on Friday on news of Russia’s production cuts, Brent was largely steady at just above $86 a barrel by 1239 GMT on Monday.
Mazrouei said the deal was “long term” for a reason and they would only consider amending it if the group saw “something that would shake the market”.
“We haven’t seen that yet. The market is balanced and stable,” he added.
Asked later what factors OPEC+ was considering could move markets, he cited China’s easing of COVID-19 restrictions and global economic conditions.
“China is one of the big factors, and it’s a positive sign that it’s coming back, and we’re happy about that,” Mazrouj said.
At the same time, he said people were trying to use less oil, “not because the price went up, but because the whole economy was kind of tight, so people were saving on everything”.
(Additional reporting by Yousef Saba Writing by Ahmad Ghaddar Editing by David Goodman and Barbara Lewis)
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