OPEC+ energy ministers ponder delay to extra oil supply ahead of key meeting

OPEC+ energy ministers ponder delay to extra oil supply ahead of key meeting

DUBAI: Energy ministers from the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers are considering whether or not to extend historic cuts to crude output for a further period, in view of global uncertainties about demand, as COVID-19 cases surge worldwide.Policymakers from the 23 OPEC+ grouping - led by the two biggest producers Saudi Arabia and Russia - have been consulting ahead of a crucial full meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this week to decide whether to put an extra two million barrels of oil per day back onto global markets from next month.Trading experts said that a further extension of the current level of cuts - around 7.7m barrels per day - was likely in view of continuing uncertainty about the global economic outlook.Mike Muller, head of Asian business for global crude trader Vitol, told a forum organized by the consultancy Gulf Intelligence: "The market consensus is that they will hold off on the full increase. The question is for how long - three or six months?“Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, the energy minister of Saudi Arabia and chairman of the OPEC+ ministerial committee, has indicated his willingness to consider "tweaks“ to the current schedule in view of economic uncertainties