The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-cartel oil producers present at the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) said they were ready to boost oil production to compensate for any possible shortfall, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Falih said on Sunday, Sputnik reported.
"The Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] alone has a remaining 1.5 million barrels per day of spare capacity that is available. Other ministers present today have also shown us they have spare capacities that they will be ready to deploy if there is demand and it is required by any shortfalls for a number of factors, either geopolitical, technical disruptions, weather-related and of course due to any conflicts," Falih said at the press conference after the JMMC meeting in Algiers.
The minister also noted that OPEC and non-cartel oil producers recommitted themselves during the meeting to adopting "evergreen" cooperation framework beyond 2018, stating that the countries would examine oil production and hear guidance at the ministerial meeting in December.
He announced that draft declaration of cooperation with other countries participating in the Vienna agreement on oil production cuts was ready and was also set to go through finalization and approval in December.
"We expect the ministers [to] sign and approve [the declaration] in December and subsequently there will be a continuous scheduled coordination at technical levels, ministerial meetings and hopefully there will be a summit to launch this charter in action," Falih added.