The United Arab Emirates is committed to the OPEC+ agreement and its existing monthly production adjustment mechanism, its energy minister said on Wednesday.
“The UAE believes in the value OPEC+ brings to the oil market,” UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said in remarks to WAM New Agency.
OPEC+, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and their allies, has a deal to gradually raise output each month by 400,000 barrels per day.
The group has refused to act more quickly even as prices have rocketed higher because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
OPEC has earlier hailed UAE’s “tremendous efforts” over the past period to maintain consensus among the members of the organization towards all issues regarding the global oil market and the support it provides to maintain its balance and stability in a manner that takes into account the interests of producers and consumers alike, WAM reported.
A UAE source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that the Gulf state would not act on its own to raise production and remained committed to OPEC+ policy.
The UAE source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Gulf state was committed to the OPEC+ alliance and only its energy ministry was responsible for oil policy.
Earlier, the UAE's ambassador to Washington, Yousuf al-Otaiba, said in a statement tweeted by the embassy that his country favors an oil production increase and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher output.
“The UAE has been a reliable and responsible supplier of energy to global markets for more than 50 years and believes that stability in energy markets is critical to the global economy,” the tweet read.
The ambassador’s comment had suggested a shift in position, driving down Brent crude sharply and ended Wednesday 13% lower at $111.14 a barrel, the biggest one-day fall since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
But subsequent comments from the UAE source downplayed any shift in position, helping push prices back above $116 on Thursday.
