A $30 Oil Price Is the Real Virus Threat to OPEC

A $30 Oil Price Is the Real Virus Threat to OPEC

The week when ministers from the oil producing countries of OPEC and their allies meet to decide on the future of their latest round of output cuts.. Having failed to persuade Russia to bring the meeting forward, Saudi Arabia will now hope to convince its biggest non-OPEC ally of the need to make deeper cuts in the face of a demand slump triggered by the Covid-19 virus.. OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia last week, said that in spite of the new coronavirus, the world's "thirst for energy will continue to grow.". Veteran energy consultants FGE cut their forecast for growth this year to "almost zero.". And the TomTom figures show the impact of the virus on traffic in Milan after its discovery in northern Italy.. Saudi Arabia's oil supplies to China are set to fall by a third in March as demand withers..