BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 6
By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:
OPEC+ countries will discuss a new agreement and new volumes of reduction in oil production in a format of video conference in the coming days of April, russian analyst at the Center for Political Information Ivan Pyatibratov told Trend.
In turn, Azerbaijan is ready to contribute to the global regulation of the oil market by participating in the planned meeting of the ministers of OPEC and countries outside of cartel in order to stabilize the oil market, Pyatibratov said.
The situation in the oil market after the failure of the previous round of negotiations is extremely negative, said Pyatibratov.
He noted that the initial exit of Russia from the OPEC+ agreement seemed as justified and even potentially profitable in order to shake the US shale market.
“Nothing personal, it’s just business. But in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is severely affecting the economies of all countries that have established quarantine regimes, such measures may be dangerous. Nevertheless, to some extent the goal was achieved. Donald Trump was the first to turn to Russia with a request to return the status quo,” said the analyst.
“On April 5, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin stated that a reduction in oil production is really necessary, but only in cooperation with the US and other major oil suppliers,” Pyatibratov emphasized.
“I would like to draw attention to the fact that the US is not a member of OPEC and did not participate in previous agreements on reduction. So if they do this now, we are witnessing something unprecedented. One way or another, I expect that Russia and Saudi Arabia will be able to agree on new conditions for the reduction in the upcoming deal, and OPEC+ will continue to operate in the usual mode,” he stressed.
“Reducing production normalizes oil prices with or without the US. Only statements by Donald Trump that negotiations are underway had a positive impact on quotes. In this regard, the economic situation of all oil-supplying countries, including Azerbaijan, will become much more stable, and the consequences of the pandemic will be mitigated," the expert said.
The analyst believes that the exporting countries would try to bargain for themselves the most favorable conditions.
“I can surely say that an attempt will be made, because it is not just a rollback of changes in the deal, but its revision. It’s another matter that any breakthrough breaks should not be expected, since the current situation requires not so much bargaining as speedy normalization of the situation,” Pyatibratov concluded.
In early April, Saudi Arabia urgently called for to convene a meeting of OPEC+ countries to discuss decisions on the oil market.
The statement by the UK came after negotiations between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman.
The US president has proposed reducing production by 10 million barrels per day in order to mitigate the drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.