OPEC warns of ‘immense challenges’ as talks on oil production cuts continue

OPEC warns of ‘immense challenges’ as talks on oil production cuts continue

OPEC warned on Monday that the "immense challenges" caused by the Covid-19 pandemic were likely to persist into 2021, as the group of oil producers continues high-stakes negotiations over an extension to its production cut agreement."The shock to the oil industry is massive and its severe impacts will likely reverberate in the years to come," Abdelmadjid Attar, OPEC president and Algeria's energy minister, told the group on Monday.  "The pandemic continues to rage with cases soaring in many regions around the world. It continues to affect adversely the global economy and, consequently, the world energy markets, in an unprecedented manner."Reuters, citing Algeria's state news agency APS, reported that OPEC members had reached a consensus to extend the production curbs for three months, but further talks were needed to convince members of the OPEC+ alliance at their meeting on Tuesday to back the policy.Oil prices, which had been on track to increase by over 20% this month, fell on Monday. International benchmark Brent crude trading around $47.56, down around 1.3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $45.02, around 1.1% lower.Current production cutsOPEC cut an unprecedented 9.8 million barrels per day in May, as the full economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic started to