Major oil-producing countries maintain their original plan to increase production moderately
Xinhua News Agency, Vienna, March 31 (Reporter Liu Xinyu) The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil-producing countries held the 27th ministerial meeting by video on March 31, and decided to maintain the original moderate production increase plan in May this year. .
According to a statement issued by OPEC, the participating oil-producing countries reconfirmed the benchmark and production adjustment plan and the monthly production adjustment mechanism approved at the 19th ministerial meeting, raising the monthly total output in May by an average of 432,000 barrels per day.
According to the statement, the participating oil-producing countries believe that the current fluctuations in the crude oil market stem from the continuous changes in the geopolitical situation, rather than changes in market fundamentals; the current crude oil market fundamentals and the consensus on the future direction show that the market supply and demand are balanced.
In April 2020, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic on oil demand, OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries, the "OPEC+" cooperation mechanism, reached an agreement to reduce production.
In July 2021, "OPEC+" reached an agreement at the 19th ministerial meeting, agreeing to increase its total output by an average of 400,000 barrels per day from August of that year, until the 5.8 million barrels per day reduction is gradually lifted.
Recently, affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Russia, the international crude oil price exceeded US$100 per barrel and hovered at a high level.
Major oil consuming countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany have repeatedly urged OPEC+ to further increase production in recent weeks to stabilize oil prices, but OPEC members such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently reiterated that they will continue to maintain the OPEC+ cooperation mechanism.
According to the OPEC statement, the 28th ministerial meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries will be held on May 5 this year.