BCN-49, 50 OPEC inches towards oil output deal ahead of key meeting

304

ZCZC

BCN-49

OPEC-ENERGY-OIL-MEETING-SAUDI

OPEC inches towards oil output deal ahead of key meeting

VIENNA, June 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – OPEC energy ministers expressed optimism
Thursday they were nearing a compromise on oil output policy, with Saudi
Arabia acknowledging that a big production hike would be “politically
unacceptable” to archfoe Iran.

OPEC and non-OPEC partner countries are due to hold crunch talks in Vienna
on Friday and Saturday to decide the fate of an 18-month-old supply-cut pact
that has cleared a global oil glut and lifted crude prices to multi-year
highs.

Saudi Arabia, backed by non-member Russia, is now racing to convince the
alliance to raise production again in order to meet growing demand in the
second half of 2018.

Adding an extra one million barrels per day to the market “sounds like a
good target to work with”, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said at a
seminar organised by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC).

Regional rival Iran however is fiercely opposed to unwinding the agreed
production curbs, as its oil industry is bracing for fresh sanctions
following US President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the international
nuclear pact.

Several other OPEC members, including Venezuela and Iraq, are also against
major changes to the pact as they are unable to immediately boost production.

– Venezuela, Libya production down –

Signalling that positions might be softening, Saudi’s Falih acknowledged
that “not every country can respond to an allocation of higher production”
and said it was important to be “sensitive” to those concerns.

Allowing countries like dominant player Saudi Arabia to make up for the
shortfalls of other members “may be a technical solution but it may not be
politically acceptable to others”, he said at the Vienna seminar.

As the clock ticks down to the upcoming ministerial meetings, a face-saving
compromise appeared to be in the works.

MORE/SR

ZCZC

BCN-50

OPEC-ENERGY-OIL-MEETING-SAUDI 2 LAST

“We hope that there will be an agreement,” Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-
Luaibi told reporters.

“Iraq is trying very hard to narrow the gap between the two blocs.”

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed al-Mazrouei added: “I am very
optimistic.”

Observers say the participating countries could simply agree to stop
exceeding their quotas for cutbacks, and stick to the agreed target of
trimming production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).

The 24 nations in the pact, known as OPEC+, are currently keeping more than
two million bpd off the market.

Most of the shortfall has come from Venezuela, where an economic crisis has
savaged the nation’s petroleum production.

Output has also plummeted in Libya, where fighting between rival factions
has damaged key oil infrastructure.

BSS/AFP/SR/1825 HRS