OPEC, Non-OPEC Reach Oil Cuts Deal Amid COVID-19

OPEC Building

ABU DHABI, Apr 13 (NNN-WAM) – An emergency video conference between OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial partners, chaired by Saudi Arabia, ended on Sunday with a continued commitment of the participating producing countries on the agreement reached last week, to cut oil production output, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

During the tenth meeting, producing countries “reaffirmed the continued commitment of the participating producing countries in the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ to a stable market, the mutual interest of producing nations, the efficient, economic and secure supply to consumers, and a fair return on invested capital.”

Meeting participants emphasised the “important and responsible decision” to adjustment production at the 9th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on 9th and 10th Apr.

In view of the current fundamentals and the consensus market perspectives, and in line with the decision taken at the 9th meeting, all participating countries agreed to adjust downwards their overall crude oil production by 9.7 mb/d, starting on May 1, 2020, for an initial period of two months that concludes on June 30, 2020.

For the subsequent period of six months, from July 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020, the total adjustment agreed will be 7.7 mb/d.

It will be followed by a 5.8 mb/d adjustment for a period of 16 months, from Jan 1, 2021 to Apr 30, 2022.

The baseline for the calculation of the adjustments is the oil production of Oct, 2018, except for Saudi Arabia and Russia, both with the same baseline level of 11.0 mb/d. The agreement will be valid until Apr 30, 2022, however, the extension of this agreement will be reviewed during Dec, 2021.

Participating members called upon all major producers to provide commensurate and timely contributions to the efforts, aimed at stabilising the oil market.