UAE says it is committed to OPEC+ agreement, monthly mechanism

UAE says it is committed to OPEC+ agreement, monthly mechanism

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The United Arab Emirates is committed to the OPEC+ agreement and its existing monthly production adjustment mechanism, its energy minister said on Wednesday, hours after the Arab country's ambassador to Washington said it favors an output increase.

"The UAE believes in the value OPEC+ brings to the oil market," UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Twitter.

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.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said on Wednesday that the UAE was giving support for increased oil production.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, has been restoring 5.8 million barrels per day in production cuts over the last several months, with another 400,000 bpd due in April, to restore supply cuts dating to the 2020 pandemic outbreak.

However, the group has resisted calls from the United States and allies to ramp up output as oil prices have surged to more than $120 per barrel.

The ambassador's comments come a day after U.S. President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other