A deeper cut in oil supplies is among options for OPEC and its allies to consider in December, its secretary general, Mohammad Barkindo, has said as the producer group’s forecasts pointed to lower demand next year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, have since January implemented a deal to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day to support the market. The pact runs to March 2020 and the producers meet to set policy on Dec. 5-6.
“The conference will take appropriate, strong, positive decisions that will set us on the path of heightened and sustained stability for 2020,” Barkindo told reporters at a briefing in London on Thursday.
“All options are open,” he said, when asked about the prospect of a deeper oil supply cut.
While the last meetings of OPEC and its allies in July decided on supply for the next nine months, the next meeting in Vienna will likely take a longer view.
“As we approach December, we will be faced with real data for 2020 which will enable us to probably review the current arrangement and come up with a decision that probably will cover the whole of the year,” Barkindo said.
Saudi Arabia told OPEC that its production in September fell by 660,000 bpd from August to 9.13 million bpd following the attack on its oil facilities.
OPEC separately released its October monthly oil market report on Thursday.
OPEC said that in September the group’s production was 1.32 million bpd lower month-on-month at 28.49 million bpd.
The organization left unchanged its 2020 forecast that global oil demand would grow in 2020 by 1.08 million bpd.