Top oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia have announced that they will continue with their additional voluntary oil output cuts until the end of the year. This decision comes as concerns over demand and economic growth continue to weigh on crude markets.
Both countries have stated that they will review their cuts next month to consider extending, deepening, or increasing them.
Saudi Arabia has confirmed that it will maintain its additional voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for December, resulting in a production of around 9 million bpd. In a statement, the country’s Ministry of Energy emphasized that this additional cut aims to support the stability and balance of oil markets.
Moscow has also announced that it will continue its additional voluntary supply cut of 300,000 bpd from its crude oil and petroleum product exports until the end of December.
The alliance of oil-exporting countries known as OPEC+ has been implementing output cuts since last year as a preemptive measure to maintain market stability. Despite support from the conflict in the Middle East, oil prices have weakened from a September high of nearly $98 per barrel for Brent crude to around $85 per barrel on Friday.
Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of OPEC, initially made the voluntary cut in July as an addition to a broader supply-limiting agreement. In September, the kingdom announced an extension of its additional voluntary cut until the end of the year, with monthly reviews of the decision.
Analysts had already anticipated that Saudi Arabia would confirm an extension of its cut in December. OPEC+ has already made a decision in June to limit supply into 2024. The alliance is scheduled to meet on November 26 in Vienna.
By Omar Abdel-Razek and Maha El Dahan; Editing by Alexander Smith, Sharon Singleton, and David Evans
Source: Reuters