Baku, Azerbaijan, March 13
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
NOPEC is not in the interest of the US, nor is it in the interest of the oil and gas industry that is thriving commendably in the US and in the rest of the world, Trend reports citing OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo.
He pointed out that the US would best save its interests without such legislation.
It is unfair to proceed with such a legislation if it is targeted against an organization such as OPEC that has done exceedingly well in its noble objective of achieving and maintaining stability from which the US has also benefited tremendously, Barkindo told CNBC.
Further, he noted that OPEC will soon gather in Baku at the Joint Technical Committee meeting that evaluates the data from member countries and the data provided by secondary sources. “Hopefully, we will be able to get the full picture.”
OPEC secretary general pointed out that rebalancing the market is a continuous process.
“We have been able to achieve so major success over the last couple of years through the Declaration of Cooperation. We are facing these challenges together as a group with the sole objective of ensuring that 2019 also remains balanced. We are determined to not allow the market to relapse into the disequilibrium that we had seen,” he added.
US House of Representatives committee approved a bill on Feb.7 that would open up the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to antitrust lawsuits.
The House Judiciary Committee passed the bipartisan bill, known as the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, or NOPEC, on a voice vote.
The legislation would change US antitrust law to revoke the sovereign immunity that has long protected OPEC members from US lawsuits. It allows the US attorney general to sue the oil producers group or any of its members on grounds of collusion.
Versions of the bill have appeared without success in Congress for the past 20 years. The committee also approved a version of the bill last year by voice vote, but it never reached the full House for a vote.
OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.
The 5th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Vienna, Austria, on December 7, 2018.
The meeting participants decided 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 contributions from OPEC and the voluntary contributions from non-OPEC participating countries of the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ will correspond to 0.8 million barrels per day (2.5 percent), and 0.4 million barrels per day (2 percent), respectively.
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