TEHRAN, Iran, Dec. 4
Trend:
Crude oil output cuts will decrease from a previously-agreed amount of 7.7 million bpd to 7.2 million bpd in January 2021, down 500,000 bpd, Iran’s Minister of Petroleum said.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh made the remark after the 12th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on Thursday, adding OPEC+ meetings need to be held monthly to decide on the curbs for other months, Trend reports citing SHANA.
"However, if further easing was needed, it should not be more than 500,000 barrels per day," he said, emphasizing the decision for future months would depend on crude oil supply and demand in the market.
Zanganeh went on to say that the final decision will be made in the coming months and in future meetings.
"Any decision will be made by considering the market supply and demand," he pointed out adding the latest decision was a wise one.
Due to the uncertainty in the market, the monthly meeting could help to maintain market stability and support OPEC and non-OPEC’s objective to create a fair price in the market.
"I do not think the decision will have an influential effect on the market in terms of decreasing the prices as producing 500,000 barrels is not a big amount," he added.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-plus grouping on late Thursday decided to increase the crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from January.
Starting next month, the Opec-plus arrangement comprising of 23 countries including Russia and allies will increase production, resulting in a reduced production cut to 7.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) from the current levels of 7.7 mb/d. The decision to gradually return the 2 mb/d to the global market is expected to help India—the world’s third-largest oil importer.
"In light of the current oil market fundamentals and the outlook for 2021, the Meeting agreed to reconfirm the existing commitment under the DoC (Declaration of Cooperation) decision from 12 April 2020, then amended in June and September 2020, to gradually return 2 mb/d, given consideration to market conditions," OPEC noted in a late-night statement after the12th Opec and non-Opec ministerial meeting.