Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.7
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
It is going to be very difficult to allocate the reduction of oil output among OPEC and non-OPEC countries, Elio Ohep, oil analyst, director of PetroleumWorld energy agency, told Trend Nov.7.
The oil market should rebalance, as this is in the best interest of all, he said, adding that however, the issue is too complex to predict.
“The interest of Iraq and Iran is to ramp up the production. Venezuela is not able to reduce the oil output due to inefficiencies of the current government. Ecuador, Bolivia, Indonesia are trying to stay on course. Russia, the US, Mexico and Norway are trying to build up the production. So who is going to cut?” asked the analyst.
Regarding the prospects for changing the world energy map in the case if OPEC reaches a deal in Vienna, Ohep noted that all depend on how the oil price goes.
If OPEC reaches a deal and the price goes up, the US will produce more and will be able to supply the amount of barrels of the OPEC cut, he said.
“The US could become the key payer and price setter of the market,” the analyst added.
Officials and experts from OPEC countries and non-OPEC nations, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Oman and Russia met for consultations in Vienna on Oct. 29 and only agreed to meet again in November before a scheduled regular OPEC meeting on Nov. 30.
OPEC and non-OPEC countries said in a joint statement that the meeting on Oct. 29 was "a positive development" towards reaching a global output limiting deal on Nov. 30.
In September, OPEC producers agreed during the informal meeting in Algiers to cut down the oil output to 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from current production of 33.24 million bpd.
How much each country will produce is to be decided at the next formal meeting of OPEC in November.