OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Oman, have reached an agreement to voluntarily reduce oil output in the first quarter of 2024. The announcement by OPEC+ oil ministers revealed a total production cut of over 2 million barrels per day during this period.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both announced additional voluntary production cuts following the meeting. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy stated that it will extend its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day, originally implemented in July 2023, until the end of Q1 2024. This will result in a production level of approximately 9 million barrels per day for Saudi Arabia during this period. The gradual return of these additional cut volumes will depend on market conditions. The Kingdom had previously announced a voluntary cut of 500,000 barrels per day until the end of December 2024.
The UAE, on the other hand, will implement an additional voluntary cut of 163,000 barrels per day from January 1, 2024, until the end of March 2024. This will bring the UAE’s production level to 2.9 million barrels per day during the first quarter of 2024. The country had previously announced a voluntary cut of 144,000 barrels per day until the end of December 2024.
Kuwait also revealed its decision to voluntarily reduce crude oil output by 135,000 barrels per day for three months starting January 1, 2024. This will result in an oil production level of 2.413 million barrels per day for Kuwait until the end of March 2024. The reduction is in addition to the previously announced cut of 128,000 barrels per day until the end of 2024.
Oman announced an additional voluntary reduction of 42,000 barrels per day in crude oil output from January 2024 until the end of March 2024. This is in addition to the previous voluntary reduction of 40,000 barrels per day until December 2024.
These voluntary production cuts are aimed at supporting market stability and the balance of oil markets. The efforts made by OPEC+ countries in implementing these cuts are part of their precautionary measures to ensure stability in the oil industry.
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