VIENNA (Sputnik) – Saudi Arabia will reduce oil production under the new OPEC-non-OPEC agreement by additional 200,000 barrels per day as it has already cut output by 500,000 bpd, Iraqi Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban told reporters on Friday.
Participants of the OPEC-non-OPEC oil production cut deal agreed during a meeting in Vienna earlier in the day to reduce overall oil production by 1.2 billion barrels per day, with Saudi oil producers cutting the output by 500,000 bpd in order to stabilise prices on the market.
“In October, we produced 10.7 million barrels daily… The January numbers will be in the neighborhood of 10.2 million barrels per day, so it will be less than in October by about 500,000 barrels,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Falih said at the OPEC ministerial conference in Vienna.
Prices on crude oil plummeted down to $60 per barrel in November following the decision of Saudi Arabia to raise crude production to an unprecedented 11.3 million barrels per day as Reuters reported on 27 November citing an industry source.
Such raise was caused, among the other factors, by numerous requests of US President Donald Trump, who criticised the OPEC for high oil prices and urged Saudi Arabia to change the situation.
Trump later thanked Riyadh for lowering oil prices, adding that Washington would remain a “steadfast partner” of the kingdom. The statement came in during the ongoing probe into the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi consulate in Istanbul that worsened relations between Washington and Riyadh, with the US Senate introducing resolution to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the murder.
Total Oil Cuts
According to the OPEC release, the organisation agreed to lower its oil output for six months by 0.8 million barrels per day from October 2018 levels, starting January. At the same time, non-cartel countries will be cutting the output by 400,000 barrels.
“The conference decided to adjust OPEC overall production by 0.8 million barrels per day from October 2018 levels effective as of January 2019 for initial 6 months with the review in April”, the OPEC press release read at the OPEC-non-OPEC press conference after the ministerial talks said.
It was decided that OPEC’s “next ordinary meeting will reconvene in Vienna, Austria in April 2019.”
In late 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC states made a deal to cut oil production in a bid to stabilize oil prices. Since then, the agreement has repeatedly been prolonged with the final extension reaching the end of 2018.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
