Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said to Al-Arabiya channel on Tuesday that the OPEC+ decision to cut production by 2 million barrels per day was purely economic and was taken unanimously.
He added that OPEC+ members acted responsibly and took the appropriate decision, saying that the alliance seeks to stabilise the market and achieve the interests of producers and consumers.
It's the biggest reduction by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies since 2020, but will have a smaller impact on global supply than the headline number suggests. Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said the real supply cut would be about 1 million to 1.1 million bpd, a response to rising global interest rates and a weakening world economy.
Several member countries are already pumping well below their quotas, meaning they would already be in compliance with their new limits without having to reduce production. A cut of 2 million barrels a day in the group's output target, shared pro rata, would require just eight countries to curb actual production and deliver a real reduction of about 880,000 barrels a day, according to Bloomberg calculations based on September output figures.
Global crude futures jumped after the announcement, returning to three-week highs last week.
