LONDON—The OPEC+ alliance will ensure oil prices do not plunge steeply again when it meets to set policy at the end of November, OPEC’s secretary general said on Oct. 15, adding that demand has been recovering more slowly than expected.
“I want to assure you that the OPEC, non-OPEC partnership will continue to do what it knows best, by ensuring that we don’t relapse into this almost historic plunge that we saw,” Mohammad Barkindo said.
Barkindo was answering a question at the Energy Intelligence Forum on whether there was room for a planned increase in oil output from January by OPEC+, a grouping that includes OPEC states, Russia and other allies.
“We have to be realistic that this recovery is not picking up pace at the rate that we expected earlier in the year,” he said. “Demand itself is still looking anemic.”
A technical OPEC+ committee meeting is taking place on Oct. 15 to discuss compliance with oil cuts and market fundamentals.
The group had 102% compliance with its cuts in September, two OPEC+ sources told Reuters.
Countries such as Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, which had fallen short of their commitments, have been asked to make additional cuts until the end of the year to compensate for the shortfalls.
Barkindo said the compensation scheme was working well.
OPEC+ is due to taper production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bbl/d), from 7.7 million bbl/d currently, in January.
Barkindo said when OPEC+ holds its ministerial meetings on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 it will take stock of the whole year to inform any decision to stay the course or amend its policy.
On Oct. 14, the energy minister from the United Arab Emirates told the same event that OPEC+ will stick to its plans to taper oil production cuts from January.
Recommended Reading
US Interior Department Releases Offshore Wind Lease Schedule
2024-04-24 - The U.S. Interior Department’s schedule includes up to a dozen lease sales through 2028 for offshore wind, compared to three for oil and gas lease sales through 2029.
Utah’s Ute Tribe Demands FTC Allow XCL-Altamont Deal
2024-04-24 - More than 90% of the Utah Ute tribe’s income is from energy development on its 4.5-million-acre reservation and the tribe says XCL Resources’ bid to buy Altamont Energy shouldn’t be blocked.
Mexico Presidential Hopeful Sheinbaum Emphasizes Energy Sovereignty
2024-04-24 - Claudia Sheinbaum, vying to becoming Mexico’s next president this summer, says she isn’t in favor of an absolute privatization of the energy sector but she isn’t against private investments either.
Venture Global Gets FERC Nod to Process Gas for LNG
2024-04-23 - Venture Global’s massive export terminal will change natural gas flows across the Gulf of Mexico but its Plaquemines LNG export terminal may still be years away from delivering LNG to long-term customers.
US EPA Expected to Drop Hydrogen from Power Plant Rule, Sources Say
2024-04-22 - The move reflects skepticism within the U.S. government that the technology will develop quickly enough to become a significant tool to decarbonize the electricity industry.