Kuwaiti Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel has said that Kuwait took a “sovereign decision” to start cutting oil output ahead of May 1.
The country supports collective action, consensus among OPEC member states, and the OPEC+ agreement, the minister said, affirming that it has adhered to its output quotas as agreed upon in previous deals over the past years.
Kuwait “felt responsibility to respond to market conditions” and acted on its own, Fadhel said, according to the official Kuwait News Agency. He also called for maintaining "spirit of team work to face forthcoming challenges emanating from the coronavirus impact on the global oil demand."
The present period requires joint efforts within OPEC and partners in OPEC+, the minister said, describing the phase as unprecedented in history of oil.
OPEC and non-OPEC partners agreed on April 13 to reduce their combined oil production by 9.7 million bpd in May and June.
For the following six-month period, from July 1 to Dec. 31 this year, the total output cut will be eased to 7.7 million bpd. This will be followed by a 5.8 million bpd adjustment for a period of 16 months, from Jan.1, 2021 to April 30, 2022.
According to the OPEC statement, both Saudi Arabia and Russia will lower their individual productions from the level of 11 million bpd.
The current agreement will be valid until April 30, 2022, with the review of a possible extension in December 2021.
The 10th Extraordinary OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was held via video-conference, under the Chairmanship of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy.
