(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Abdulwahab Al-Guyed
VIENNA, Dec 9 (KUNA) -- UAE's Oil Minister and OPEC President Suhail Mohammad Al-Mazrouei on Sunday hailed a recent OPEC decision to reduce the production by 1.2 million bpd for six months as of next January.
In an exclusive statement to KUNA, Al-Mazrouei said the talks between OPEC and non-OPEC members were "difficult", pointing to the tangible achievements at the market during the current year.
Oil prices witnessed a significant decline last year as the prices rose during the current year to reach USD 70 per barrel, he said.
The minister said that during his OPEC term of office in January, he had set two goals, to achieve balance between supply and demand and to persuade the non-OPEC members, which are positively involved in promoting stability in the oil market, to continue to cooperate in the future.
The agreement reached by oil ministers from within and outside OPEC, provides the organization's commitment to reduce its production to 800,000 bpd, and reduce each member state's production by two percent of the total current production of each country according to their production levels last October, he added.
The non-OPEC members, led by Russia, will cut production by 400,000 bpd, or two percent of each country's output, according to production volume in October.
He expressed his belief that the agreement to reduce production by 1.2 million bpd aims mainly to maintain the fundamentals of the market supply and demand.
The fifth OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting decided Friday to adjust the overall production by 1.2 million barrels per day effective as of January 2019 for an initial period of six months.
The decision followed three days of deliberations among representatives of 24 countries on the immediate oil market prospects and in view of a growing imbalance between global oil supply and demand in 2019.
The decision, based on a recommendation reached by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) on Wednesday, is meant to restore balance to the global oil market through reducing the glut in supply. (end) amg.ss
MENAFN0912201800710000ID1097807230
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.