Kuwait is “fully committed” to implementing an agreement among oil-exporting countries to cut production in order to support crude prices, Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel said on Monday.
He said his country has cut its own output by more than required by this agreement.
“Kuwait’s compliance was close to 160 percent last July,” he was quoted as saying by the country’s official news agency, KUNA.
He said fears of a global economic downturn, which have weighed down on prices, were “exaggerated,” and global demand for crude should pick up in the second half, helping reduce the surplus in oil inventories gradually.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other non-OPEC producers, known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop inventories building up and prop up prices.
Global oil market performance indicators are still almost stable, and global oil demand is acceptable and should recover in the coming months despite recent declines in oil prices, according to the statement.
However, overestimating global economic concerns negatively affects the stability of oil markets, the statement added.
Regarding technical indicators to measure the performance of oil markets, Fadhel said oil surplus was stable and it is heading towards a more gradual decline.
There are several other positive factors, he affirmed, with the rising demand for oil during H2 2019 due to the end of the regular maintenance season for refineries around the world and the entry of many new refineries to service in Asia and the Middle East by Q4 2019.
He also pointed to the global shortage of oil supplies from many OPEC members as well as the constraints of offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico during July, due to Hurricane Barry.
Many concerns about the decline in global economic growth have recently emerged, casting a shadow on global stock exchanges and international oil stock markets, the statement read.
The Minister also expressed optimism about the improvement of market conditions in the coming months.