Abu Dhabi: Any further cuts in oil production have been put on hold for now, as Opec+ ministers called on producers to abide by those that are already in place. This follows the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting in Abu Dhabi.
In a statement following their meeting, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said that conformity levels with production cuts stood at 136 per cent in August, though some countries are lagging behind in their commitments. This was a point the JMMC stressed would need to be corrected in the coming months.
“In terms of the JMMC, I think it has been an excellent meeting ... [Russian energy minister] Alexander Novak together with the very capable new energy minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman [of Saudi Arabia] have delivered an efficient JMMC,” said Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry.
“I think the results of the two ministers’ discussions with different ministers during the last two days have led to an excellent outcome. Those who are a bit lagging behind in terms of their conformity have committed their willingness and mentioned the number of barrels that are going to be reduced will reach their 100 per cent conformity levels.
“This additional volume that is going to be removed will help us speed up the correction in inventories and serve the whole industry [by bringing] a quick equilibrium to the oil market.”
For his part, Russian energy minister Novak said it was crucial for all producers to observe their commitments. “We said quite clearly that all the participants of the agreement between Opec and non-Opec have to observe their commitments 100 per cent.
“Yes, we have seen the over performance during the first eight months which stood at over 136 per cent, but some countries have lagged behind failing to reach their 100 per cent commitment. And so after the JMMC, we have agreed that in September and October everyone is going to reach their level of compliance.”
