OPEC and its allies in will decide on March 4 whether to freeze oil output or raise it slightly from April as a recent price rally is clouded by concern over the fragility of economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The market has been expecting the OPEC+ group of producers to ease supply cuts by about 500,000 bbl/d from April. OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia has also been expected to partially or fully end its voluntary production cut of an additional 1 million bbl/d.
But three OPEC+ sources said on March 3 that some key members of OPEC had suggested that output across the OPEC+ group should be kept unchanged.
It was not immediately clear whether Saudi Arabia would end its voluntary cuts or extend them, they said.
UPDATE:
OPEC+ Broadly Extends Oil Supply Cuts into April, Sources Say
Russia has been insisting on raising output to avoid prices spiking any further and lending support to shale oil output from the U.S., which is not part of OPEC+.
But in February Moscow failed to raise output, despite being allowed to do so by OPEC+, because harsh winter weather hit output at mature fields.
JP Morgan cited Russia’s representative on the OPEC+ technical committee, Denis Deryushkin, as saying that Russia saw some rationale in raising output because the oil market was in a 500,000 bbl/d deficit.
A source familiar with Russian thinking said Moscow wanted to raise its output by 0.125 million bbl/d from April.
Recommended Reading
Texas LNG Export Plant Signs Additional Offtake Deal With EQT
2024-04-23 - Glenfarne Group LLC's proposed Texas LNG export plant in Brownsville has signed an additional tolling agreement with EQT Corp. to provide natural gas liquefaction services of an additional 1.5 mtpa over 20 years.
US Refiners to Face Tighter Heavy Spreads this Summer TPH
2024-04-22 - Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co. (TPH) expects fairly tight heavy crude discounts in the U.S. this summer and beyond owing to lower imports of Canadian, Mexican and Venezuelan crudes.
What's Affecting Oil Prices This Week? (April 22, 2024)
2024-04-22 - Stratas Advisors predict that despite geopolitical tensions, the oil supply will not be disrupted, even with the U.S. House of Representatives inserting sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.
Association: Monthly Texas Upstream Jobs Show Most Growth in Decade
2024-04-22 - Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the oil and gas industry has added 39,500 upstream jobs in Texas, with take home pay averaging $124,000 in 2023.
Shipping Industry Urges UN to Protect Vessels After Iran Seizure
2024-04-19 - Merchant ships and seafarers are increasingly in peril at sea as attacks escalate in the Middle East.