OPEC+ committee recommends to keep output policy unchanged

OPEC+ committee recommends to keep output policy unchanged

VIENNA: A committee of major oil producers recommended Friday to keep the cartel’s current output strategy unchanged after heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia extended their cuts despite recovering prices. Oil prices have picked up in recent months due to high demand coupled with tighter supply, sending the price for Brent crude up to $85 a barrel—its highest level in over three months. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, oil peaked at more than $130 dollars per barrel.

In a virtual meeting on Friday, the group’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) “reaffirmed the commitment of its member countries” to the production reduction strategy “which extends to the end of 2024”, a press release said. The JMMC also expressed its “appreciation for the kingdom (of Saudi Arabia)’s additional voluntary cut of one million barrels per day (bpd)”, which the country had extended until September on Thursday in an effort to prop up prices.

In addition to Riyadh’s cut that took effect in July, a further cut of 300,000 bpd for September was announced by Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak. For the month of August, Moscow had pledged to cut production by 500,000 bpd. In June, the 13 members of the Organization