OPEC and OPEC+ have agreed to expand its oil supply starting next month.
According to the Associated Press, UAE Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrui held a press conference and said, “We are satisfied with this agreement.”
However, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman refused to answer questions about how he reached an agreement.
OPEC+ earlier agreed to cut crude oil production by 10 million barrels a day last year due to falling demand and plunging prices caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. Since then, it has gradually expanded its supply and revised its reduction to 5.8 million barrels per day.
According to the agreement, OPEC+ will expand supply by 2 million barrels per day from August to December. It will abolish all cuts by September next year.
It also postponed its plan to expand production from April to the end of next year. This is in preparation for the slow recovery of the world due to the coronavirus mutation.
As a result, OPEC+ has also decided on new production quotas for member countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait and Iraq, that will be applied from May next year.
Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz stated that OPEC+ will adjust its current policy if Iran returns to the oil market with the nuclear agreement. Iran is estimated to be able to produce 1.5 million barrels of crude oil a day if sanctions are lifted by the nuclear agreement.
