OPEC+ Keeps Current Oil Output Policy Unchanged

A model of oil rigs in front of the OPEC logo (Reuters)
A model of oil rigs in front of the OPEC logo (Reuters)
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OPEC+ Keeps Current Oil Output Policy Unchanged

A model of oil rigs in front of the OPEC logo (Reuters)
A model of oil rigs in front of the OPEC logo (Reuters)

A meeting of top OPEC+ ministers has kept oil output policy unchanged including a plan to start raising output from December.

On Wednesday, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) emphasized in a statement the critical importance of achieving full conformity and compensation after it reviewed the crude oil production data for the months of July and August 2024 and current market conditions.

It stated that Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia confirmed that they had achieved full conformity and compensation according to the schedules submitted for September.

The three countries also reiterated their strong commitment to maintaining full conformity and compensation throughout the remaining period of the agreement.

The JMMC then emphasized it will continue to monitor adherence to the production adjustments and will also continue to monitor the additional voluntary production adjustments announced by some participating OPEC and non OPEC countries.

The next meeting of the JMMC (57th) is scheduled for December 1, 2024.

The JMMC usually meets every two months and can make recommendations to change policy.

OPEC+ is currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 5.7% of global demand, in a series of steps agreed since late 2022.

Its latest agreement calls for OPEC+ to raise output by 180,000 bpd in December, part of a plan to gradually unwind its most recent layer of voluntary cuts during 2025. The hike was delayed from October after prices slid.

Speaking hours before the planned virtual meeting of an OPEC+ committee, United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Wednesday OPEC+ was doing a noble job of balancing the oil market even if does not produce the majority of oil in the world.

“OPEC+ has sacrificed more than others but the critical element is that it is staying together,” Mazrouei said at an industry event in the emirate of Fujairah.

“I would like you to imagine the world without this group. We would be in chaos,” Mazrouei said.



Libya's Eastern-based Gov't Announces Reopening of Oilfields

Libya's eastern-based government said on Thursday that oilfields and facilities would reopen (File photo by AFP)
Libya's eastern-based government said on Thursday that oilfields and facilities would reopen (File photo by AFP)
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Libya's Eastern-based Gov't Announces Reopening of Oilfields

Libya's eastern-based government said on Thursday that oilfields and facilities would reopen (File photo by AFP)
Libya's eastern-based government said on Thursday that oilfields and facilities would reopen (File photo by AFP)

Libya's eastern-based government said on Thursday that oilfields and facilities would reopen after a dispute over the leadership of the central bank was resolved, potentially ending a crisis that has slashed oil output, two government sources and local media said.
Libya has been divided since 2014 into rival authorities in the west and east that emerged following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
The government in Benghazi in the east said oil production and exports would resume normal operations, according to the sources and media, after the rival authorities agreed last month to appoint a new central bank governor, Naji Issa, Reuters reported.
The government in the second-largest city had closed oilfields and halted most of crude exports on Aug. 26 in protest against a move by the Presidential Council, which sits in Tripoli in the west, to replace veteran central bank chief Sadiq al-Kabir.
The head of the Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, met with Issa on Wednesday and stressed "the need for the central bank governor to commit to the technical role of the bank, stay away from politics, and not surpass the legal jurisdictions of the board of directors."
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Aug. 28 that oil production had dropped by more than half from its typical levels due to the closures.
The North African country's crude exports averaged about 460,000 barrels per day in September, data from oil analytics firm Kpler show, down from more than 1 million bpd in August, shipping data show.